By Michaela Gordoni
As a felon, Jelly Roll isn’t allowed to own a firearm again in his lifetime, but now he’s speaking out.
“My goal is that I want to reach out to legislation eventually and go, ‘Hey, if nothing else, I’d like my right to hunt,” Jelly Roll told Joe Rogan on Rogan’s podcast recently. “It’s done a lot for my mental health. It’s done a lot for my physical health.”
The “Save Me” singer learned to hunt as a teen on his uncle’s farm.
“I had a rich uncle, whenever I was a kid. I would go to his farm, and it’s the first place I shot a gun, and we would go quail hunting,” he recalled.
Jelly Roll now has his own 500-acre farm in Tennessee.
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“This is a slippery slope for me. I am up for a pardon this year,” he said. “My paperwork has been sent to my governor, and he considers pardons every December. So, every day, I’m just kind of praying.”
Even if Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee gave Jelly Roll a pardon, Tennessee doesn’t allow forgiveness for violent offenders.
“So, I would be pardoned, but I wouldn’t be exonerated. The charges aren’t completely gone,” he said.
“I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be—to let them know that change is truly possible,” Jelly Roll told Lee early this year. “One of the reasons I’m asking for your recommendation for this pardon is because I’m looking to take my message of redemption through the power of music and faith through the rest of the world.”
He stressed that there needs to be some way for felons to redeem themselves.
“I want to go to them and go, ‘Look, I understand if you’ve ever raped somebody or killed somebody, but I think that every … it should … there should be some path to redemption.’ Even if it takes 30 years,” Jelly Roll said.
Jelly Roll went to jail 40 times in his life. The first time was when he was 14. At age 16, he was charged for aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell, and was charged as an adult.
“I hadn’t hit my last growth spurt. I was charged as an adult years before I could buy a beer, lease an apartment, get a pack of cigarettes,” he told Billboard. “I feel like the justice system at that point kind of parked me on my only set path.”
He notes that he would also feel safer if he could own a lethal firearm.
“I’m a million dollars plus a year in security. I’d cut that bill in half tomorrow if I had the right to carry,” Jelly Roll said.
There are numerous ways to hunt. So if Jelly Roll doesn’t find forgiveness, hopefully, he can take up the crossbow or another tool to help him with his health.
Read Next: How ‘Redemption and Hope’ Helps Jelly Roll Fulfill His Dreams
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