Last Stop on the Road to Freedom

Letters from Sing Sing

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True Crime, Incarceration, Investigative Journalism, Investigative, Dan Slepian, Sing Sing, Prison, Manhattan Da Office, Jj Velazquez, District Attorney, True Crime Podcast, Justice, True Crime Documentary, Guilt, 20 Years, Jon Adrian Velazquez, Convicted, Nbc, Manhattan District Attorney, Journalism, Barry Scheck, True Crime Documentaries, Dateline Nbc, Prisoner, Dateline, Nbc News Studios, Podcast, Murder, Investigation, Innocence, Incarcerated, Two Decades, Nbc News, Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Reform, Criminal Justice System, Sing Sing Prison, Wrongful Conviction, Documentary, Letters From Sing Sing

4.9 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this bonus episode of the award-winning Letters from Sing Sing podcast, veteran producer Dan Slepian reflects on the final chapter in J.J. Velazquez’s hard-fought path to full exoneration after being wrongfully convicted of murder over two decades ago. Dan and J.J. join Kristen Welker on Meet the Press for a “Meet the Moment” conversation to detail their 20+ year path to overturning J.J.’s conviction.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi there letters from Sing Sing listeners this is Dan Slepigan.
0:12.4	It's hard to believe that more than a year has
0:15.5	passed since this podcast first launched and so much has happened since then.
0:20.3	First, we are enormously humbled that the podcast, along with the incredible team behind it at NBC News Studios, has been honored with several prestigious journalism awards, including being named a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
0:36.1	And just a few weeks ago, my book, The Sing Sing Files, One Journalist, Six Innocent Men,
0:41.4	and a 20-year fight for justice was published, which details not only
0:45.6	J.J.'s case, but also the stories of several other men J.J. introduced me to at Singh,
0:51.3	all people who, like J.-J were wrongfully convicted and
0:55.5	ultimately exonerated after years of tireless efforts. And on November 23rd
1:01.6	and 24th, the Sing Sing Chronicles, a documentary series produced by NBC News
1:07.2	Studios about some of those men, including J.J., will air on MS NBC.
1:13.4	Stay tuned to this feed for more on that to come.
1:17.0	This podcast and the recognition it received,
1:19.9	publishing the book, the upcoming documentary series,
1:23.2	all of it has been deeply meaningful.
1:25.6	But none of it compares to what happened earlier this week.
1:29.8	On Monday, September 30th, after nearly 27 years,
1:33.9	J.J. Velasquez was finally exonerated.
1:38.7	As many of you know, J.J.
1:40.1	was wrongfully convicted in 1999 of killing retired police officer Albert Ward.
1:46.4	For more than two decades, JJ fought from inside Singh, never wavering in his claims of innocence.
1:53.0	I've had the privilege and honor of walking alongside him for more than 20 years,
	...

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