Man wrongfully convicted of rape begins law career in New York

When Jarrett Adams was 17, he was sentenced to 28 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit.

In 1998, Adams and two other teens were charged with raping a woman in her college dorm. Throughout his trial and time in prison, Adams maintained that the encounter was consensual.

Adams began studying the law while in prison and with the help of the Wisconsin Innocence Project he was exonerated and released after spending nearly eight years in prison. The Innocence Project's lawyers were able to show the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago that Adam's original court-appointed lawyer provided ineffective counsel. Adams was released in 20017.

Last year Adams, now 35-years-old, graduated from Loyola University Law School. He has since worked as a fellow with the Innocence Project and held a dual clerkship with Judge Ann Claire Williams of the 7th Circuit and U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts of the Southern District of New York according to ABA Journal.

Adams passed the New York Bar exam in February and is beginning is law career in New York City. He told CBS Chicago that the fact that he's practicing law "should be a lesson to all those who have obstacles to overcome."

See photos of Adams below: