Jarrett Adams
The Innocence Project
New York, NY USA
"Close your eyes and picture something you want, no matter what is in front of it, that you would do anything humanly possible to get to...all you have to do is keep fighting until you figure out a way to get to that other side."
Career Roadmap
Jarrett's work combines: Law, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Going to community college is a great first step to get your foot in the door and help you build the relationships needed to succeed. Getting an AA in something general like Liberal Arts sets you up to study almost anything you want.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Associate's Degree
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
South Suburban College
Bachelor's Degree
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
Roosevelt University
Doctorate
Law
Loyola University-Chicago
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago by a single mother.
2.
When he was 17 years old, he was falsely accused of a rape while attending a college party with some friends.
3.
He couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer, so the court appointed him one—the lawyer failed to call some key witnesses or enter a defense, which resulted in him receiving a 28-year prison sentence.
4.
He had served almost 10 years of his sentence before the Innocence Project took his case, got his conviction reversed, and had his record expunged.
5.
He was released in February of 2007 and was back in school by April of that year—says that he knew getting an education was the key to getting himself reacclimated into society.
6.
Started at community college and eventually went on to graduate with his law degree from Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law.
7.
His first job out of law school was working as a clerk in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago—the same court that overturned his conviction.
8.
He now works closely with the Innocence Project, in addition to running his own law office and continuing to act as an advocate for criminal justice reform.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You have to forgive the people that did you wrong and move on.
How I responded:
I don't forgive them. I'm still very angry, but I use that anger constructively and use it to motivate me forward. I want to use my experiences to positively effect others and ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was in prison for 10 years for something I didn't do. Once I was released, I struggled to acclimate myself to society and the shadow of being in prison followed me wherever I went.
At the time I was accused, I couldn't afford a good lawyer so the court appointed one for me (a bad one), which ultimately led to me going to prison in the first place.
I was raised by a single mother.