Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday, clearing the Nashville native’s felony convictions in the state. 

“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story, which is what you look for and what you hope for,” Lee told local reporters, according to The Associated Press. 

Lee and Jelly Roll shared a hug in front of a lit Christmas tree and a fireplace decorated with holiday garlands.

JELLY ROLL UNVEILS DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT SIGNATURE BEARD AFTER WEIGHT LOSS

The Grammy-nominated artist was one of 33 people to receive pardons from Lee, who for years has issued clemency decisions around the Christmas season. 

State officials said Jelly Roll’s request underwent the same months-long thorough review as those of other applicants, with the Tennessee Board of Parole issuing a nonbinding, unanimous recommendation in April.

Jelly Roll’s criminal record includes robbery and drug-related felony convictions.

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He has said receiving a pardon would make it easier to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work without having to navigate extensive paperwork tied to his past convictions.

Friends and civic leaders rallied behind the musician in an outpouring of support for his application, underscoring how far he has come since serving time behind bars.

Lee said he had never met Jelly Roll until Thursday, when the artist visited the governor’s mansion following the pardon announcement.

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Unlike some recent high-profile federal pardons that have freed inmates from prison, Tennessee’s pardon process is about forgiveness, not release. It applies only after a sentence has been served and can help restore certain civil rights, including the right to vote, though limits remain, and the governor controls the terms.

Jelly Roll previously testified before the U.S. Senate about the dangers of fentanyl, describing his drug-dealing younger self as “the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about.”

“I was a part of the problem,” he told lawmakers at the time. “I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”

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In the 2023 documentary “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” he revealed he’s been to jail about 40 times for various offenses. His most serious charge came when he was 16, for aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell. Jelly Roll was tried as an adult and faced up to 20 years in prison but ended up serving a little more than a year, and seven years of probation.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jelly Roll and Gov. Lee for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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WAYNE COUNTY, Tenn. — Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in whitetail deer continues creeping in an eastward direction in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has received the first-ever positive chronic wasting disease (CWD) test result in a road-killed deer found in Wayne County. Since Wayne County is already within the current CWD Management Zone, wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions are already in place.

This means CWD has now been confirmed in 20 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. This is the third county where CWD has been confirmed East of Kentucky Lake, what some people hope might provide at least a partial impediment to CWD’s eastward expansion. The first CWD case confirmed in Tennessee came in 2018. Of course several cases have also been more recently identified in the northwest corner of Alabama.

In Wayne County, there are no changes to the deer hunting season dates and regulations. However, hunters are now eligible for the Earn-a-Buck Program. Hunters can earn additional bucks by harvesting antlerless deer in Wayne County and submitting them for testing. Hunters who have already submitted antlerless deer for testing this fall will be provided an earned buck. For more details on the CWD Management Zone and Incentive Programs, visit CWDinTN.org.

As a reminder, Wayne County is subject to the following wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions:

• Deer carcasses can move within and between counties in the CWD Management Zone.
• Hunters may not move whole or field-dressed deer carcasses or unapproved parts outside of the CWD Management Zone. Only approved parts may be moved out of the CWD Management Zone.
• Once a carcass is brought into the CWD Management Zone, it cannot be moved out of the zone.
• Approved parts are free to be transported anywhere statewide. Approved parts are listed below:
• Deboned meat
• Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, cleaned skulls (where no meat or tissues are attached to the skull)
• Cleaned teeth
• Finished taxidermy and antler products
• Hides and tanned products
• Within the CWD Management Zone, the placement of grain, salt products, minerals, and other consumable natural and manufactured products is prohibited.
• Feeding restrictions do not apply if the feed or minerals are:
• Placed within one hundred (100) feet of any residence or occupied building; or
• Placed in such a manner to reasonably exclude access by deer; or
• Placed as part of a wild hog management effort authorized by the agency; or present from normal agricultural practices, normal forest management practices, or crop and wildlife food production practices.

Hunter’s participation in CWD testing is critical for the continued surveillance and monitoring of CWD throughout the state.

Hunters can access CWD testing through participating taxidermists and meat processors or by using drop-off freezers.

The Wayne County drop-off freezer is available at: Beech Creek Fire Hall, 5775 Beech Creek Road, Waynesboro, TN 38485.

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.

The agency partners with certified laboratories to test samples, and TWRA has already submitted approximately 8,400 samples for testing this hunting season.