Jelly Roll has always been open and honest about his life spent in and out of the judicial system between the ages of about 14 to 25. After serving his time, he’s spent years on a path toward redemption and has used his platform to inspire change. Now, that journey has reached a major milestone as the Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall announced that the genre-bending hitmaker is closer than ever to receiving a full pardon in the state of Tennessee.
WSMV4 reports that Sheriff Hall is the one to thank for this major step forward. He personally went to Governor Bill Lee on Jelly Roll’s behalf, and now his actions are starting to pay off.
“A year ago, I wrote @GovBillLee asking for a full Pardon for Jason “Jelly Roll” Deford…..today the Board unanimously recommended his Pardon. It’s now in the hands of our Governor,” Hall wrote in a new post that includes photos of him and the “Liar” singer sharing a tight hug inside the board room after hearing the good news.
A year ago, I wrote @GovBillLee asking for a full Pardon for Jason “Jelly Roll” Deford…..today the Board unanimously recommended his Pardon. It’s now in the hands of our Governor. pic.twitter.com/NACZOGW2y0
— Daron Hall (@DaronHall7) April 22, 2025
According to constitution.congress.gov, if Jelly Roll were to officially receive approval for a full pardon, that would mean he would receive a form of legal forgiveness, thus wiping away the legal consequences of his past convictions—including the penalties—and fully restoring his rights.
“A full pardon granted by the President and accepted by its subject prevents or removes any of the penalties and disabilities consequent upon conviction . . . In several nineteenth-century cases, the Supreme Court suggested that a pardon broadly obviates all legal guilt of the offender, effectively erasing the crime from existence.”
Davidson County court records show that Jelly Roll’s past charges date back to incidents in 2003 and 2008. While serving time, the Tennessee native started to really lean into his passion for music, and found that in doing so, he created a sense of community among his inmates. The moment that changed it all for him was when he learned he had a little girl. From then on, he knew he wanted to make some major changes in life and he did just that.
“I immediately started coming home and selling mixed tapes out of the trunk of my car and just trying to figure it out. And God just kept blessing me, man. I just kept working for it,” he said during a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson show.
Jelly Roll has come a long way since his days of being incarcerated. He is now a very successful artist, a proud father to his daughter, Bailee Ann, and a husband to his wife, Bunnie XO. Even among all the fame, he has never forgotten where he came from and the journey that got him to this point.
A big part of his career now involves going back to prisons to perform for inmates and provide a sense of hope that their past does not have to define their future.
Jelly Roll told the show’s host that he feels he was called by the Lord to embark on this mission to go back to these jails and help those who are in the same position he was once in.
“This was kind of a direct from the big man. This was in red. This was written in red. If you read the Bible, I’m reading,” he explained. “And I’m just trying to do what I said I was going to do man and what I was called to do. So I just try to show up. Plus, I’ll be honest with you, Ms. Hudson, I have been in a situation where nobody showed up for me. And if you’ve been in a place in life where nobody shows up for you, anytime you get a chance to show up for people, you show up with bells and whistles.”
When he’s not visiting prisons, touring or making new music, Jelly Roll is sharing his wisdom with the next generation of artists as part of American Idol’s first Artist in Residence.
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