Nanon Williams was sent to death row decades ago for a crime he says he didn't commit. NBC News’ Dan Slepian reports on how Williams became like family to the Reiners as they helped him fight for freedom.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner formed an intimate bond with Nanon Williams, a man serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn't commit.

"Michele was my heart," Nanon Williams said of the late photographer, who advocated for him to receive a new trial.

Nanon Williams was sent to death row for a murder he says he didn't commit. Decades later, through daily emails and prison calls, Rob and Michele Reiner became family.

Rob and Michele Reiner had good intentions until the very end. The When Harry Met Sally director and his wife, Michele, had befriended and bonded with a former death row inmate, even staying in touch with the individual before their murders last year.

In an email update that was time-stamped at 8:26 p.m. EST on Dec. 13, 2025, Michele wrote an email to the inmate with the subject titled “Ugly Side of Beautiful.” She raved about the performance, writing,

Hours before her death, Michele Reiner reportedly emailed a death row inmate whom she and her husband, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rob Reiner, had befriended. Nanon Williams, 51, told NBC News about how he received a message from Michele about Lyrics From Lockdown,

A death row inmate received a heartbreaking email from Michele Reiner just hours before she and her Hollywood legend husband Rob were allegedly murdered by their own son.