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Emory Jones, longtime friend and business associate of Jay-Z, has been granted a pardon by President Donald Trump.
Jones, who is now an executive in Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, was sentenced to nearly 16 years in 2000 on federal drug charges. Thanks in part to a letter from the hip-hop mogul, his sentence was reduced by 37 months, but now, Trump has given him a completely clean slate.
The news was shared this week by Alice Marie Johnson, who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after being sentenced to life in prison on a nonviolent drug charge in 1996. She now works with the White House as the “pardon czar.”
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“Yesterday was a powerful day for second chances,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “I am deeply grateful to President @realdonaldtrump for granting clemency and pardons to 30 deserving individuals whose cases we carefully reviewed and brought forward—and to the White House Counsel team, led by Will Scharf, for the hard work behind these decisions.”
She added, “Among them is Emory Jones, who served nearly 16 years in federal prison and came home determined to build a different life. Today he is an entrepreneur and creative leader whose journey reminds us how much people can grow—and how much good they can still do.”
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In 1999, Jones pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The following year, he was sentenced to 188 months, nearly 16 years, in prison, with five years supervised release.
Jones’ legal team submitted a request for a reduction of his sentence in 2009, and as part of their request, they submitted a series of letters from people familiar with Jones, including Jay-Z.
In a letter to the judge, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, wrote that he’d be offering Jones an executive assistant job with Roc Apparel Group upon his release, with a starting salary of $50,000.
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“As you might expect, this position needs to be filled as soon as possible,” he wrote. “It is my strong desire to have Mr. Jones fill this position. I have known Mr. Jones for 15 years. I believe his attributes, including intelligence, interpersonal skills and solid work ethic will be a significant asset for my organization.”
In another letter, Jones himself wrote about his conviction, saying, “Of all the excuses that I could have attributed my demise to, I chose not to use a single one. Excuses are tools of the incompetent and only build monuments to nothingness.”
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He also included mention of his support system, including Jay-Z, writing, “When a person or people make sacrifices and devote themselves to supporting you through the adversity of incarceration, you owe them. Nothing monetary because you can’t put a price on love and support. However, you do owe them the privilege and opportunity to see you do something extremely positive with your life.”
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Jones was resentenced to 151 months, still with five years supervised release, shaving 37 months off of his original sentence.
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Today, he’s the head of Lifestyle at Roc Nation, and he also has an executive role in fashion brand Paper Planes, which he and Jay-Z founded in 2014.
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