JJ Velazquez & Dan Slepian
Award-Winning Investigative Journalist at NBC News & Criminal Legal Reform Activist
JJ Velazquez & Dan Slepian
Award-Winning Investigative Journalist at NBC News & Criminal Legal Reform Activist
Biography
Dan Slepian & Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez can be booked together or separately for speaking engagements. The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice follows Dan Slepian on years of prison visits, court hearings, and street reporting that led to a series of powerful Dateline episodes and eventually to freedom for four other men and to an especially deep and lasting friendship with one of them, Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez. From his cell in Sing Sing, JJ aided Slepian in his investigations until his own release in 2021 after decades in prison.
About Dan Slepian
Dan Slepian is a distinguished, award-winning investigative journalist at NBC News, a leading authority on the criminal justice system, and a seasoned public speaker. For nearly three decades at NBC’s Dateline, Dan has spearheaded dozens of documentaries and hidden camera investigations, earning a reputation for his pivotal work regarding wrongful convictions and mass incarceration. His podcast, Letters from Sing Sing, was a 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist and debuted at #1 on Apple’s top charts.
Dan’s deep knowledge about the criminal legal system is seen in nearly all of his work, from conducting a TEDx talk at Sing Sing to conceiving and producing groundbreaking televised events, including the first ever town hall from inside a maximum-security prison, where he and anchor Lester Holt brought the voices of the incarcerated to a national audience.
Known for his tenacious, relentless pursuit of truth and his empathetic storytelling, Dan is a respected figure in both journalism and the fight against injustice.
In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Dan Slepian has received more than a dozen Emmy nominations, four Edward R. Murrow awards, a Sigma Delta Chi, and has been honored by multiple justice organizations across the country.
His new book, The Sing Sing Files, chronicles his 20-year journey to exonerate six wrongfully convicted men.
About Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez
Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez’s career as a criminal legal reform activist began in 1998, when he was wrongfully convicted as the shooter in the murder of a retired police officer. He spent almost 24 years in NYS maximum security prisons assisting, educating, and mentoring incarcerated people and their families.
While incarcerated, he earned two degrees in behavioral science and became a certified paralegal. He was considered a “one-man innocent project,“ helping other wrongfully convicted individuals obtain freedom. JJ was an elected liaison between the prison population and administration, while working to help others obtain their college degrees in his capacity as a program assistant at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. As a leading light at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, he organized a delegation of leaders, and implemented several positive programs including CHOICES, which has served hundreds of children impacted by crime and incarceration.
JJ specializes in storytelling, which stems from his passion to turn trauma into triumph and inspire others to convert obstacles into opportunities. He moderates panels, facilitates workshops, and gives talks designed to educate, motivate, and incite meaningful change. JJ’s messages are heartfelt and filled with empathy.
He provides media platforms with valuable context and rare insight. These insights are fueled by personal experiences that helped him accumulate a deep and diverse knowledge base of criminogenic behavior, mass incarceration, and wrongful convictions. Decades of unjust imprisonment have led to valuable lessons about life, humanity, and survival.
JJ now serves his community locally as the Co-founder and Executive Director of Voices from Within based in New York, and nationally as the Program Director at the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice.
Speaker Videos
Dan Slepian and JJ Velazquez describe 20-year effort to free Velazquez from wrongful conviction
Incarcerated man’s decades-long journey to freedom chronicled in NBC News podcast
Joe Biden and JJ Velazquez Discuss Criminal Legal Reform
The C.H.O.I.C.E.S Connection | Jon-Adrian Velazquez | TEDxSingSing
Voices from within | Dan Slepian | TEDxSingSing
Speech Topics
Building Bridges in Unlikely Places: A Friendship Forged Through Adversity
This talk centers on Dan’s relationship with JJ Velazquez, a man wrongfully convicted, how their bond evolved over two decades, and he led Dan to several other innocent men that Dan did stories about. It’s a story about building trust, understanding, and a lasting friendship in the most unlikely of places—inside the walls of Sing Sing.
The Sing Sing Files: Exposing the Injustice of Wrongful Convictions
Dive deep into the harrowing stories of six innocent men who were wrongfully convicted and spent decades behind bars. This talk explores the systemic failures of the criminal legal system, the relentless pursuit of truth, and the difficulty in achieving justice.
Investigative Journalism: The Power of Persistence & Truth
A behind-the-scenes look at how investigative journalism can bring justice to light. Using real-life examples from Dan’s 20-year journey, he shares the challenges, triumphs, and ethical dilemmas faced while uncovering wrongful convictions.
Through the Prism of Wrongful Convictions: Perversity & Pathology of Mass Incarceration
By examining the epidemic of wrongful convictions, Dan delves into the broader issues of mass incarceration. This talk reveals the systemic perversities and deep-rooted pathologies that have led to the United States’ current crisis of incarceration.
The Human Cost of Injustice: A Journalist’s Journey Through the American Prison System
This presentation highlights the profound human impact of wrongful convictions on the incarcerated, their families, and society. Dan discusses the emotional and psychological toll of my investigations and the stories of resilience and hope that emerged.
Justice for All: How We Can Reform the Criminal Justice System
Focused on actionable insights and reforms, this talk addresses the critical need for changes within the criminal justice system. Drawing from decades of experience and specific anecdotes, Dan provides a roadmap for how society can better ensure justice for all.
Testimonials
Books & Media
Books
The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice