“JJ provided me with an immersive education about the humanity concealed behind prison walls, regardless of someone’s innocence or guilt, and how much more humane the system should be. And he also taught me something else: how easy it is to find an innocent person behind bars.”

My husband loves Dateline and 48 Hours; we rarely miss an episode. As we were watching it one night, I did a double take - I was positive I knew the guy they were interviewing. When they said his name, I told my husband, “I went to high school with that guy!”

As we listened to what the episode was about, it saddened me greatly the reason he was on tv. His father’s wrongful murder conviction had been overturned after spending 27 years behind bars. His son played a huge role in freeing him and the story brought tears to my eyes.

The Sing Sing Files is about six different prisoners wrongfully committed in the same prison in NY. It is an eye-opening read that really changes the way one looks at our justice and prison systems. Much like Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, this book hurts to read, but is also so necessary so that we can work as a collective whole to try to change the systems for the better.

Everything about this reading experience was further enhanced by the author chat that @kellyhook.readsbooks and @beachesbooksnbubbles put together with @danslepian and @jj4justice . I highly recommended heading to their YouTube channel to watch!