Let me tell you, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 made a great book club read and discussion. We may live in the same area with kids the same age, yet our backgrounds and experiences with the criminal justice system were all different. It was one of our longest book discussions we have had. Highly recommend!

Dan Slepian did a wonderful job tell the six men's stories and it read like an Dateline episode. Our hearts went out to the innocent men (and their families) who were wrongfully convicted. It was also disturbing how painfully hard it was to reverse their sentences, even with clear evidence and the prosecutors themselves believing they were innocent. As the book stated, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯.”

On top of all this, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 pointed how out different the United State's prison system is to other countries. Unlike ours, education and reform are priorities. Inmates dress normally and are treated like humans. Not surprisingly, prison return rates are significantly reduced when education is obtained.

If you are looking for a thought-provoking, eye-opening non-fiction read, this is it. Pick it up.

Synopsis: An NBC Dateline producer's cinematic account of two decades navigating a broken criminal justice system to help free six innocent men.

Details: Dan Slepian • 224 pages • September 10, 2024 • Gifted: @celedonbooks • 5⭐

This was an amazing and very eye-opening read - it is little wonder why so many have a deep distrust of the justice system, from the police all the way up to the top , and this book just opens that reasoning wide-open and leaves the reader just gobsmacked. This [justified] distrust and the miscarriage of justice discussed in this book is sickening and I spent much of it either supremely pissed off or bawling my head off, sometimes both at the same time [ugly angry crying is always such a good time. N O T]. What was done to these men [and many before them and I am sure many that are still fighting for the truth and their freedom] is criminal within itself and I really struggle with the idea that no one is ever really held accountable for the lives that they ruined in incarcerating these men with little to no evidence.

The author, Dan Slepian, is nothing short of an amazing human being and he deserves any accolades that he receives [his acknowledgments at the end really show just how grateful and humbled he has been by this whole experience and just how much it is still affecting him and how he continues to work with and for these men and others]; I admire him and his tenacity and unwillingness to give up on these men and their walk through a justice system that is against them and their continued walk to freedom and beyond.

This is a story that will shake you to your very core and will make you look at life completely differently and will leave you wondering just what you would do in this situation and what you can do to make a difference in this crazy world we live in. It is a brilliant book and I highly recommend it to anyone. This is truly a must-read book.

The author also narrates this book and does an excellent job - you can hear the real emotion in his voice and he tells [and relives] the stories of these men and their pursuit of true justice and that really adds to the story. The use of sound clips and of several of them men reading the letters they wrote to Mr. Slepian was also a fantastic addition and brought real depth and emotion to an already emotional story and it brought me to tears over and over again. Listening to this audiobook was the best way for me to experience this amazing book and if you are looking for a real emotional connection to the story, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as well. Very well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dan Slepian, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

The Sing Sing Files is 100% a must read and serves as an important reminder of the moral and ethical responsibilities that people in the law enforcement (and closely related fields) hold.

This book dives into a 20 year investigative journey in which Dateline producer Dan Slepian is paramount in helping free six men who have wrongly been incarcerated. I would be shocked if someone told me this book didn’t make them cry. I was in tears several times throughout. These men spent precious years of their lives in prison and if it weren’t for people like Bronx homicide detective Bobby Addolorato and Dan Slepian, who knows if they ever would have gotten out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dan Slepian’s writing style. The chapters, although short, were informative and well written. In all honesty, I would not have minded 100 more pages detailing his investigations. (I also want to know when this man had time to sleep. God Bless him!)

I will absolutely be picking up a physical copy of this book for my library. Thank you so incredibly much to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Dan Slepian for an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review. 5/5 stars.

I’m sure this one is a little bitter sweet for the author. Happy to have these stories out, but sad he could write this one in the first place.

I was moved when I watched Just Mercy with Michael B Jordan. The stat in the last moments of the movie was that for every nine people executed, one is exonerated. If you need to, read that again. It makes me think of the criminals in jail in a whole new light.

The author is a producer for Dateline and dug deep and investigated these six cases. He’s led to what is six wrongfully convicted men and the corruption that not only put them there but kept them there because they had their day in court. I understand how the system works but once there are facts that prove these men were wrongfully convicted, nothing changes for them. They remain behind bars.

It made me sad and it made me mad as I read his account of his investigation. It isn’t just one thing but multiple things stacked on top of each other.

It really has me rethinking a system that I thought worked for the most part. This could happen to anyone but is sadly more likely happen to poor men of color.

I really wish there was a way that the police could investigate a little more and make sure they have not a good suspect but the right one without being totally inefficient.

I feel for these men and their families.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC.

Dan Slepian gives his readers a massive look inside the criminal justice system and the flaws - some purposeful, some not - that put innocent people in prison. My eyes continue to be opened to the shortcomings of the CJ system in America. My heart breaks for each of the individuals Dan worked with, but even more so for those who don't have a "Dan".

Alright, folks, buckle up for a journey through the criminal justice system, brought to you by Dan Slepian—NBC Dateline producer by day, wrongful-conviction crusader by night. The Sing Sing Files is his two-decade saga of freeing six innocent men from prison, and let me tell you, it’s like “Dateline: Justice Edition” but without the dramatic voiceover.

The book starts with a tip from a Bronx detective that reads like the opening scene of a crime drama: two men serving 25-to-life for a murder they didn’t commit. Slepian, like a dog with a bone, grabs onto this and doesn't let go. Fast forward through 20 years of prison visits, court hearings, and emotional highs and lows, and you’ve got yourself a story that’s as inspiring as it is frustrating. The system is broken, and Slepian is here to show us just how much.

On the bright side, the book does a great job of showing the human side of these wrongful convictions. The friendships Slepian forms with the men he’s helping add a layer of warmth to an otherwise bleak topic. It’s like a strange bromance, where one half of the duo is behind bars giving legal advice, and the other half is a journalist trying to make sense of a flawed system.

Now, while the book is undeniably important and the subject matter is crucial, the pacing can feel a bit slow at times. If you’re looking for a quick, edge-of-your-seat thriller, this isn’t it. But if you’re down for a deep dive into the inner workings of justice (or the lack thereof), you’ll find plenty to appreciate.

So, if you’re into true crime with a side of social justice, The Sing Sing Files is worth a read. Be prepared to feel both inspired and infuriated—perfect for those who enjoy a slow burn of systemic failure mixed with moments of hope. Just make sure you have some lighter reading lined up afterward. Trust me, you’ll need it.

I am a huge fan of podcasts (true crime in particular), so a book written and narrated by journalist and podcaster Dan Slepian seemed like a great way to branch into nonfiction audiobooks.

The criminal justice system is clearly a topic about which Dan is passionate and extremely knowledgeable. The story flows well and is easy to follow, despite following multiple cases and their related subjects. I was completely hooked by Dan’s writing and narration style and the importance of this story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the criminal justice system and/or read and enjoyed Just Mercy. A quote from the introduction really stuck out to me and was a sobering message on which to begin this book - “The system isn’t built to get people out. It’s built to keep people in - when there is clear evidence that they don’t belong there.”

This is a story that I can tell will stick with me long after I’ve finished it. It’s an important story that is approachable even for those with little to no knowledge of our justice system.

Thank you to Celadon for the gifted review copy. All thoughts are my own.

“𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦‘𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦.”


I knew just in reading the description that this was going to be a hard book for me to read. A narrative nonfiction, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 follows the investigative research of Dan Slepian as he leverages his career with NBC to look into a series of wrongful convictions. As noted in the book, studies estimate the rate of wrongful convictions could be as high as 5%, meaning that 100,000 people could be sitting in jail right now for a crime they didn’t commit. What?!! 🤯🤯 For me, that statistic takes an “unrealistic” fear of going to prison for something I didn’t do, and makes it a little more plausible. I was so blown away by the men’s stories in this book: how they were marauded from the start, how their cases were bungled, how difficult it was to get anyone to revisit their case (even in the face of a staggering amount of evidence), and how much of their lives and the lives of their families that they missed.


What Slepian has done here is shine the light on a really awful part of our justice system, and forced us to confront it with the stories of the people it’s affected the most. This was a great read, and I think if you have a passion for social justice and enjoy well-written nonfiction, you would love it! This will be out for publication on September 10th, and is available now for pre-order.

Filled with personal narratives from the wrongfully convicted, this book is a jaw dropping account of our broken justice system. I became immersed in the personal stories and couldn’t wait to hear the outcome of their cases. Both eye-opening and shocking, this is a must read for anyone in the justice system and those interested in humanity.

The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian

This was an emotional read - I felt angry, frustrated, sad, hopeful, and relieved. The journalism was excellent and the writing clear and concise.

I loved how Slepian humanized every aspect of this report. In the first page, he explained that he was very careful with his language (using incarcerated person instead of felon, convict, or inmate) and provided additional reading for why. This start alone made me realize I was reading a book by an author who cared deeply about people.

Slepian highlighted problems in the criminal justice system that showed all the holes. As he was doing this, the writing felt fair and truthful. Very rarely did I get a glimpse of what he really thought about key players. All that to say - he didn’t say one person was responsible rather he explored WHY this happened and what the motivations were for everyone involved.

While 6 innocent men found justice over the course of this read, it made me sad to think of the others the author could’ve mentioned that haven’t gotten their justice and freedom. We have a long way to go to make sure justice really is “justice for all.”

I enjoyed reading this book a lot! It is such a hard-hitting novel following and sharing the emotion that was put into it. One man trying to fix the injustice of wrongful imprisonment...20 years... it took him 20 years to try and share what he had uncovered and learned in all those years. He fought to help those men get out and I am truly proud of him for sticking with it so long.

Thank you to Celadon and MacMillan Audio for "The Sing Sing Files." I highly recommend this book, especially the audiobook version. Slepian, a reporter, narrates it himself, and his delivery effectively brings his writing and this justice-themed real-life story to life.

I appreciated the strong writing and thorough research that laid the foundation for this story about wrongful conviction. Slepian honors the story and the readers by allowing the facts to speak for themselves, without directing the reader on what to think or feel. What’s particularly impressive is that Slepian doesn’t just tell one story about wrongful conviction; he delves into a broader exploration of the systems, biases, and systemic challenges that lead to these injustices. He lets the stories of multiple wrongfully convicted individuals stand out, positioning himself as a powerful listener and advocate who uses his platform to pursue justice.

My obsession was how obviously broken our justice system was. from The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian

It’s not like I hadn’t read books about the wrongfully imprisoned before. I read Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. I read The Sun Will Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton, one of the men Steveson helped. I have read newspaper articles about the release of the wrongfully imprisoned.

And yet Dan Slepian’s book hit me hard. I couldn’t put it down, the urgency and shock so obvious in his narrative. It left me depleted, wrung out, depressed.

For a brief second, I imagined my own life had I been wrongfully imprisoned, and frankly it was too terrible to hold onto, I had to put it away. And yet the men in this book lived with this horror for decades. And some, like JJ, took the worst life could give and turned it to good, for himself and his fellow incarcerated men. It is remarkable to consider.

Dan Slepian, a Dateline producer, warned JJ that he was only after the truth. His goal was not to exonerate JJ through his investigative reporting. But over the years, freeing JJ and the other five men in this book became personal.

…eyewitness misidentification has been found to be the leading cause of wrongful convictions… from the Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian

Under pressure to resolve crimes, police took shortcuts, ignored evidence, didn’t follow up with witnesses, ‘lost’ files, pressured witnesses, and relied on an identification process often impacted by bias. One court witness, asked to identify the man who committed a crime, picked out a man serving on the jury! Jurors later regretted being pressured to vote for a verdict they didn’t agree with.

When I first saw it, I thought, This is a place I wouldn’t even board my dogs. on seeing Sing-Sing, from The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian

What Slepian learned altered his paradigm of thinking about justice and the prison system in America. He was surprised to learn how humanely the European systems treat the incarcerated. In America, more people are locked up than in any other country–two million. There is little incentive to rehabilitate the incarcerated.

I was a girl when I read the Classics Illustrated Comic Book of Les Miserables and I was tackling the novel by Seventh Grade. You know the story of a man who stole a loaf of bread for his starving family and ended up incarcerated for years, who escapes and becomes an upstanding citizen, all while being pursued by a policeman.

Reading The Sing Sing Files, it seemed that American justice hasn’t developed much further. We concentrate on the crime and punishment.

Slepian saw that JJ was “an exceptional person” of great integrity and forgiveness. Even while he lived in a freezing, cold water cell. Even as he missed his children’s childhood, couldn’t be there to help his son maneuver into manhood. He concentrated on helping others who told Slepian “If it weren’t for JJ…”. After serving twenty-three years of his twenty-five year sentence, JJ returned to Sing Sing as a volunteer!

How can we fix a broken system with its pressure to quickly ‘solve’ crimes, the inhumanity of a prison system that is better on becoming a revolving door than reclamation, a system that does not acknowledge error and keeps the innocent locked up? That is the book I want to read next. Something to offer hope.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Riveting Account of a Justice Fight**

Dan Slepian’s *The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice* delivers a compelling and detailed exploration of one journalist’s relentless pursuit of justice for six wrongfully convicted men. Slepian’s thorough investigation and gripping storytelling shed light on the systemic failures that led to these men’s wrongful imprisonment. The book is both engaging and enlightening, offering a deep dive into the complexities of the legal system and the power of investigative journalism. While the narrative occasionally delves into technical details, *The Sing Sing Files* is a powerful testament to the impact of perseverance and advocacy in the fight for justice.

What a thought-provoking, sobering book. If this book won’t make you feel grateful for the life you have nothing will. These wrongfully imprisoned men lived through hopeless, harrowing circumstances, and didn’t give up. Sometimes, most of the time, it seemed like their sentences would be completely served before their case was even reviewed, much less a decision made and action taken. And even if they were released and you could say, “Well, they’re out now, aren’t they? What’s the big deal,” the big deal is that their conviction will follow them and close so many doors to them for the rest of their lives. Even with convictions overturned, they had still been suspects, prisoners, and initially found guilty. If they are found not guilty and the verdict overturned, that comes at the end of this sad story, and in not all cases was the verdict overturned; they were merely released.

It's complicated. It seems cruel and thoughtless and uncaring, and it is. But there are so many moving pieces. So many people and rules and laws and conventions and so much outside influence or random interference that after reading for a while I cringed just imagining how many more people are locked up that should never have been put there in the first place.

Author Dan Slepian does an outstanding job of displaying his passion and determination while at the same time presenting an accurate, balanced picture of the role police officers, lawyers, judges, witnesses, and prison personnel played in these cases. The timelines are easy to follow, the details well laid out and easy to understand and the men shown as human beings with families and skills and dreams, not one-dimensional bad guys who just caught a bad break.

As always, Celadon Books fills their small collection of highly curated titles each year with the most satisfying fiction and nonfiction books you could ask for. Thanks to them for allowing me to be a Celadon Reader and providing an advance copy of The Sing Sing Files via NetGalley. It’s well-researched, enlightening, often horrifying, and a very good read. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

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

This non fiction book is about as disturbing as anything I've read because it's real life. It needs to be read/heard to get the full impact of all the injustice that goes into people being wrongly incardinated for something they didn't do. When a person spends decades and/or the rest of their lives in prison for something they didn't do, it doesn't just affect that person. It affects their children, other family members, friends, and society. Even jurors who were browbeat, threatened, and hounded to bend to the wishes of the other jurors are going to suffer.

I won't go into the details, there are too many names, events, and shady people in all walks of life that have to do with people being wrongly convicted for a crime they didn't commit. It's not even a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in some cases. There are people who were no where near the crime, who have numerous alibi witnesses, who can be convicted. The actual murderer can even confess to the murder and the wrongly convicted person may continue to spend decades serving a sentence for something they didn't do.

My faith in people sunk with this book. But then, I see that there are people who care, who try to fix things even if you can't fix losing twenty years of your life being falsely imprisoned. Still, there are people who do make a difference, who try to help others even at the expense of their careers and future, and knowing that helps me to know that there is hope for at least a few of the wrongly convicted.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC

The injustices in this book are profound. I was first drawn to this book because of the author’s work with Dateline. I’ve been watching Dateline for as long as I can remember and i’ve always thought they did a great job covering shocking crime stories.

I can’t begin to imagine what these six men went through. Being in jail would be hard, but being there was a crime you didn’t commit would be unimaginable! I was so impressed with Danielle Slepian’s dedication to helping free these men, especially JJ! The judicial system let these men down and it’s truly alarming! Definitely a book I’ll be thinking about for a while!

If you’re interested in true crime and the judicial system, then highly recommend reading this book.

I was fortunate to receive a digital ARC of this title. It was insightful, well written, and troubling...all at the same time.
I'm learned Dan Slipian is an NBC Dateline producer/journalist. The manner in which he writes these stories reads like a novel.

I am a true crime "person," because I want to see justice for those wronged. But, at the same time, we have to be better about making sure others aren't wrongfully convicted, especially by aggressive DAs who want to win at any cost. Prosecutors do tough work, but like everything else, office politics, egos, etc. get the way sometimes. Who does this harm? Those who cannot afford to high the best legal help, who have grown up poor, usually of color, and who don't know the options they might have.

It's frustrating, sad, and seems hopeless, but I hope that I'm wrong. I couldn't rate this highly enough.
Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley & Celadon Books for an advanced copy of this incredible book! I devoured this. I'm a big fan of true crime, and to be honest: this book made me FEEL a lot of things.

Dan Slepian is an NBC Dateline producer (and investigative journalist) who stumbled into a life of work in criminal justice reform. He tells us the stories (weaved together wonderfully) of six men that were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for crimes they didn't commit.

The stories of these men, how the DAs office knew of their innocence and kept denying appeals for the sake of it, was infuriating. Just like Dan, I grew up believing there was justice in the law. But as an adult, I know that's rarely true.

I highly recommend picking this up if you're into shows like Dateline, 48 hours, or any true crime documentaries! It's fascinating reading Dan's writing and I'm very glad I got a chance to read this early.

This book publishes 9/10/24!

Thank you to Celadon Books for a gifted Kindle version and for allowing me to review this ARC before it’s publication date.

I thought this book was well written by Dan Slepian with actual accounts, documents, and using taped conversations. I know that there are many people in prison that do not belong and this book points to those injustices that occur even now in the American justice system.

Reading this book was hard at times because I felt frustrated and the reader can convey the frustration of the author as well as those involved and the men behind bars that he documented. I cannot imagine being incarcerated for something I did not do nor confessing to a crime I have not committed.

This book follows several cases and how Slepian was instrumental in helping these cases by getting in touch with people who could help these innocent men in having their cases reviewed by the court. Slepian is an Producer on Dateline and used his platform to help shed light on these cases and the miscarriage of justice that went with each one.

I recommend this book to those who are interested in these types of cases and to see that our justice system is not perfect. This same review is located on my Goodreads Account.