The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice

A riveting true-crime memoir by an NBC Dateline producer chronicling more than two decades exposing wrongful convictions and fighting for justice.

Compared to Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy for its compelling firsthand account of systemic injustice and the human impact of false imprisonment.

In The Sing Sing Files, veteran Dateline producer Dan Slepian tells the powerful story of how one tip from a New York homicide detective in 2002 launched a long personal and professional journey into the heart of the U.S. criminal justice system. Haunted by the case of two men serving decades for a murder they did not commit, Slepian immersed himself in years of prison visits, court battles, and investigative reporting that helped secure the freedom of six innocent men. Blending meticulous reporting with deeply human narratives, this cinematic account exposes how the system often resists admitting error—and highlights the courage, resilience, and friendships that emerge in the fight for justice.

“An unforgettable account of one man’s uphill journey to free the innocent and expose many of the serious problems in our criminal justice system.” – John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling author.

“A remarkable, moving account about the lives of people who have been too easily discarded, forgotten, and condemned.” – Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy.

 “This passionate, gripping, and moving chronicle … lays bare the infuriating incapacity and willful blindness of New York prosecutors, police, defense lawyers, and judges.” – Barry Scheck, Co-Founder of the Innocence Project.