It was November 28th, 2002 Thanksgiving Day and I was at a maximum security prison in New York.

After you.

I'm a long time producer for Dateline and I was working on a story about two men who were locked up for a high profile murder they say they didn't commit.

The prison lobby was busy that morning. Several officers sat behind a large square security desk slowly processing a long line of visitors.

There were signs everywhere telling me where to stand, where to wait.

A woman approached me. She was holding the hands of these two little boys. She said, my name is Maria Velasquez.

My son, John Adrian, JJ, he's in prison here, but he's innocent. Can you help us?

She said she'd been waiting, hoping to catch me, that she'd heard from her son about the story I was working on.

These are my grandchildren, she said. I still remember the look on the younger one's face. He seemed confused like, why am I here? Why is this guy looking at me?

All I could think in that moment was whether their dad was innocent or guilty. These little guys should not be in a prison on Thanksgiving Day.

I told her I'd read anything she wanted to send, but I made no promises.

One week after that visit, I received a box of paperwork followed by a letter. It was from the father of those two little boys.

December 5, 2002. Damn Mr. Slepion. I spent a lot of time trying to familiarize myself with the law.

Monday through Thursday, anyone who knows me knows that I can be found in the law library. I know I don't belong here, but I am a firm believer that everything that happens to us in life is for a purpose.

In no way am I condoning the injustice that has occurred in my life, but this incarceration has given me the opportunity to observe the world from another perspective.

My mother has informed me that she has provided you with a copy of my trial transcripts, but from the sound of the letter, it seems that your copy isn't complete.

There were 2,044 pages in total. If I am correct, she has only provided you with 1,689 pages of it.

In any event, if your copy is in fact incomplete, we will make the necessary arrangements to supply you with the missing pages.

I understand that you have not made an actual commitment to my case, but the mere fact that you will actually read my transcripts and take my case into consideration requires my utmost appreciation.

You are truly John Adrian Velasquez.

I got that letter 20 years ago. I couldn't possibly have imagined back then how it would alter the course of my life, all of our lives.

What I've learned over the past 2 decades haunts me. I still can't let it go, because it's still unfolding.

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