Our Exoneree Leadership team represents 88 combined years of wrongful incarceration. Their experiences are the driving force behind Life After Justice, with each using their talents and skills uniquely to amplify the unheard voices of the many exonerees which Life After Justice serves.
Jarrett Adams
Jarrett was wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit at age 17 and sentenced to 28 years in a maximum-security prison. After serving nearly 10 years and filing multiple appeals, Jarrett was exonerated with the assistance of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.
Jarrett used the injustice he endured as inspiration to become an advocate for the underserved and often uncounted. He earned his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in May 2015 and started a public interest law fellowship with the Honorable Ann Claire Williams, judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit - the same court that reversed Jarrett’s conviction because of his trial lawyer’s constitutional deficiencies. Jarrett also clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with the late Honorable Deborah Batts.
Prior to and during law school, Jarrett spent several years as an full-time Federal Investigator with the Federal Defender Program in Chicago, IL. In 2014, Jarrett received the National Defender Investigator Association Investigator of the Year award for his work with the clemency petition of Reynolds Wintersmith ultimately granted by President Obama.
Jarrett’s story of incarceration, exoneration, and redemption has been featured widely in the media, and he has become a sought-after motivational speaker for all audiences.
Antione Day
Antione Day was starting a career as a musician when he was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder and 2 attempted murders. After serving 10 years of a 60 year sentence, Antione’s conviction was reversed and he would later be granted a Certificate of Innocence. Upon release in 2002, Antione, like most exonerated individuals, struggled to put his life back together. However by 2006, Antione found his footing as a Prisoner Re-entry Outreach Coordinator with The Howard Area Community Center in Chicago. Antione has gotten back into music by forming The Exoneree Band, a group of Exonerated men who play at events bringing awareness to wrongful convictions.
Tyra Patterson
Tyra Patterson was born in Dayton, Ohio. On December 25, 2017, she walked out of prison after serving 23 years for crimes she did not commit.
Today, Tyra travels all over the country speaking at law schools, colleges, prisons, conferences and high schools, leveraging her story to educate people on injustice, mass incarceration and wrongful convictions. She currently lives in Cincinnati and works at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, where she leads their Community Outreach efforts and maintains paralegal and fundraising duties. Tyra was awarded an honorary Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Just Media, ArtWorks Cincinnati and Black Art Speaks. She was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
Her story has been covered by media outlets including Rolling Stone, Essence, the Guardian, ABC News, CNN and many others.
Tyra is heavily involved in the arts community of Cincinnati, specifically advocating for the hiring of artists directly impacted by incarceration and for pathways to entrepreneurship. Tyra also uses art to educate people on issues of social, racial, gender and economic justice.
Anna Vasquez
Anna Vasquez is the Director of Outreach and Education for the Innocence Project of Texas. Ms. Vasquez took on that role after serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for a crime that never occurred.
Ms. Vasquez and three of her friends, who became known as the San Antonio Four, were convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in a case that dates back to 1994 when Ms. Vasquez was 19. Ms. Vasquez and her friends spent 24 years fighting for their innocence.
In 2016, the court of criminal appeals deemed all four actually innocent. Ms. Vasquez is now dedicated to sharing her experience in the hopes of improving the justice system and preventing similar occurrences.
Ramon WarD
At the age of 18, Ramon was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for two murders he did not commit. With the assistance of the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, located in Detroit, Michigan, new evidence was discovered establishing Ramon’s innocence, after spending almost 26 years in prison.
Today, Ramon is an advocate for others like him, who stand falsely accused. He knows what it takes to overturn a wrongful conviction and what the wrongfully accused face at the time of trial. Ramon spent most of his prison days in the law library, teaching himself how to properly cite case law and drafting the motion that reopened his case after his attorney missed the filing deadline.
Skilled in shepardizing case law, Ramon provides notary and investigation services, under his company Justice Denied, LLC. Ramon does all the leg and grunt work needed to assure the falsely accused’s access to justice is not denied.