Jelly Roll Speaks Out After He’s Recommended for Pardon in Tennessee for Past Crimes

The Tennessee Board of Parole has recommended a pardon for country music singer Jelly Roll.

According to the Associated Press, the board issued a nonbinding recommendation unanimously after a hearing on Tuesday, April 22, which lasted about an hour and 45 minutes with several witnesses.

Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall was one of the individuals who spoke out in the hearing and advocated for the “Need a Favor” singer, 40, whose real name is Jason DeFord.

“A year ago, I wrote ⁦@GovBillLee⁩ asking for a full Pardon for Jason “Jelly Roll” Deford…..today the Board unanimously recommended his Pardon,” Hall wrote via X on Tuesday. “It’s now in the hands of our Governor.”

While it’s unclear when Governor Bill Lee will make his decision, Jelly Roll expressed gratitude for the progress being made in his case.

“This was incredible,” he told the Associated Press of the board’s decision. “I pray this goes through. But today was special for me, regardless.”

Jelly Roll broke into country music when he released his 2023 album Whitsitt Chapel, which featured hits including “Halfway to Hell” and “Save Me.”

He went on to receive Grammy nominations and is currently serving as the Artist in Residence on American Idol.

Throughout his career, Jelly Roll has been open about his past troubles with the law and repeatedly stated how the birth of his daughter, Bailee Ann, in 2008 encouraged him to turn his life around. (Jelly Roll also has a son, Noah Buddy, 8.)

In a September 2022 interview with radio show 105.7 The Point, Jelly Roll shared that he was in jail for dealing drugs when Bailee Ann, now 16, was born.

“I could no longer be selfish. There was something that was solely relying on me,” Jelly Roll said at the time. “I knew that that was an important task. So I wanted to take it seriously. And I did. I take it very seriously to this day.”

After participating in his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at the age of 14, Jelly Roll said he still attends “even though I’m not a textbook sober guy.”
He said he quietly sits and appreciates the message and the meaning behind every meeting with a group of strangers.

“I think everybody should experience one [even] if you’ve never drank in your life,” he said on an October 2024 episode of SiriusXM’s The Highway show. “I still think that there is something from it that is, you know, the good ones are like good theater. They’ll make you listen, you’ll learn, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry.”

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