Letters from Sing Sing

Letters from Sing Sing begins with a letter that arrived at NBC News in 2002, pulling producer Dan Slepian into a story he never expected. It came from Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, a man serving a life sentence for the murder of a retired police officer, who maintained his innocence. This podcast follows Dan’s decade-long journey as he grapples with that initial skepticism-how could five eyewitnesses be mistaken?-and meticulously re-examines a case that seemed closed. Listeners are taken inside the painstaking process of investigative journalism, from tracking down reluctant witnesses to uncovering forgotten evidence, all while navigating the complex realities of the criminal justice system. The narrative is built from intimate, often raw conversations with JJ from prison, police interviews, and courtroom drama, creating a tense and deeply human audio experience. It’s a story about doubt, persistence, and the profound weight of a single request for someone to simply look. This isn’t a typical true crime recap; it’s a real-time chronicle of a reporter’s quest for truth, making each episode feel urgent and personal. The podcast challenges easy conclusions, inviting you to follow the facts wherever they lead and to question what you think you know about guilt, memory, and justice.