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At 17 He Was Wrongfully Convicted And Sentenced To 28 Years. Now He's A New York City Lawyer

July 21, 2016

Jarrett Adams, who at age 17 was sentenced to 28 years in prison for an alleged rape he didn't commit and went to law school after being exonerated, is beginning law practice in New York City.

Sprung from prison through efforts by the the Wisconsin Innocence Project, Adams entered Loyola University Law School and graduated last year. His wife took a job in New York City, and Adams got a job there as a post-conviction litigation fellow with the Innocence Project there.

"I put my mind to it. I put my work behind it. I put God first, and now look at me," Adams told CBS Chicago.

Adams told the ABA Journal in last year's feature that he had become such an effective jailhouse lawyer helping other inmates in prison that he was deemed a security threat and moved from a maximum security prison in Wisconsin to a supermax facility, where privileges were more limited.

On Monday, he looked back with understandable pride on his swearing-in as an attorney in the Empire State.

"It should be a lesson to all those who have obstacles to overcome."