‘Letters from Sing Sing’: NBC News Studios podcast investigates high-profile murder case

The search for a new true crime podcast is over.

NBC News Studios launches its first original podcast series, Letters from Sing Sing.

In the seven-episode series, longtime NBC News investigative producer Dan Slepian takes listeners on a personal journey, investigating the case of a man who spent more than two decades in jail for a murder he says he didn’t commit.

Slepyan’s investigation began in December 2002 when John-Adrian “JJ” Velasquez sent him a letter from the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, asking him to investigate his case. Slepian’s reporting on the criminal justice system helped exonerate several innocent people.

Velasquez served. 25 years to life in prison for the 1998 murder of retired police officer Albert Ward in his illegal gambling business in Harlem during an apparent robbery attempt — a crime Velasquez firmly claims he did not commit.

Slepyan was skeptical due to some incriminating details, including witness testimony.

But the matter turned out to be more difficult.

Velasquez fought for justice for years, spent hours reading every page of his case and trying to find ways to prove his innocence. Slepian documents Velasquez’s quest for freedom through real-time recordings and uncovers systemic failures in the criminal justice system along the way.

And the case is still unfolding 20 years later. In 2021, after more than 23 years behind bars, Velasquez was pardoned by then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Slepian is also the producer of “13 Alibis”, a podcast from Dateline NBC that dives into a 1996 New York City murder case in which a man claiming to have had 13 people who could locate him 1,000 miles from scene of the crime, gets convicted of murder and is serving 20 years in prison.

The first two episodes of Letters from Sing Sing will be available wherever you get your podcasts on February 20th.

New episodes will be released every Monday until March 27, 2023.

Listen to the trailer here.