After A Wrongful Conviction, This Black Man Earned A Law Degree. Now He’s Advocating For Criminal Justice Reform

Brittni Hudson As a teenager, Jarrett Adams was wrongfully convicted and served 10 years in prison, even though he did not commit the crime. Since being released, Adams has earned his law degree and co-founded the nonprofit Life After Justice, fighting to ensure others don’t endure the same fate. And with the approaching presidential election, Adams believes President Biden should prioritize wrongful convictions as part of his campaign’s criminal justice reform agenda. Per a 2022 report, “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States,” “Black people are 13.6% of the American population but 53% of the 3,200 exonerations listed in the National Registry of Exonerations. Judging from exonerations, innocent Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted of serious crimes.” In addition, a Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) study “revealed that in two-thirds of overturned death row convictions, official misconduct, perjury or false accusations played a role in 70.7% of Black and 93.8% of Latino exonerees’ cases.” A review of Biden’s record, extending back to his days in the Senate, shows that the President has been aware of this issue for decades. When the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) was being considered...