Madison, WI — Jarrett Adams, who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault for which he served 10 years in prison, has now become an attorney and has opened his own law firm in New York City. His primary goal is to help other incarcerated men and women who have been wrongfully convicted like he was before.
Adams was only 17-years old when was sentenced to 28 years in prison. That sentence was later reduced to 10 years, and he was exonerated and released in 2007.
After his exoneration, Adams attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he earned a law degree. He then served on the Innocence Project after admitting to the New York State Bar four years ago.
Most recently, Adams admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar and was sworn in by Keith Findley, the co-founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project who helped in overturning his conviction.
Having experienced the injustices in the justice system, he knew firsthand how having low income would greatly affect a person’s chances of getting incarcerated. Like him, most people who were falsely accused don’t have access to better attorneys as well.
Now, he is coming back to Wisconsin to help overturn wrongful convictions in the state’s inflated prison population.
“I really want to live a life as an example of what can happen when people are given the opportunities and the tools to reintegrate successfully back into our society,” he told WPR. “We can’t repair what is going on in our impoverished areas in the state of Wisconsin by locking everyone up.”
Story originated @BN.com