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Life After Justice (LAJ) is a survivor-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. We exist to ensure that release from wrongful incarceration comes with the support, care, and advocacy needed to truly heal, rebuild, and move forward. We advance this work through data-driven strategic litigation, holistic mental health support, and research rooted in lived experience — because freedom must mean more than survival.

Life After Justice was co-founded by Jarrett Adams and Antione Day — both of whom survived wrongful incarceration. Their firsthand knowledge of what is missing after release shapes every program, partnership, and decision the organization makes.

It means that people with direct lived experience of wrongful incarceration lead the organization. Our board collectively spent 93 years wrongfully incarcerated for crimes they did not commit — nearly a century of stolen time, separated families, and delayed futures. That experience shapes every decision we make and fuels our commitment to ensuring no one has to rebuild alone.

Our headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois at 4455 South King Drive. While our staff attorneys are barred in California, Illinois, and New York, we review inquiries from across the country and collaborate with local attorneys when possible.

Guided by lived experience, Life After Justice works to secure freedom, support healing, and prevent future harm for people impacted by wrongful incarceration through data-driven strategic litigation, holistic mental health support, and research to drive systemic change. We envision a future where people harmed by wrongful convictions can heal, rebuild, and thrive — and where the systems that caused harm are transformed.

LAJ provides high-impact, survivor-informed legal advocacy including post-conviction litigation and exoneration work, the Pleas for Freedom: Alford Plea Project, the National Incentivized Informants Research Project, and legal internship opportunities for law students. Our staff attorneys are barred in California, Illinois, and New York but review cases nationwide.

Reach out to Life After Justice at [email protected] with your name, contact information, a brief description of your case, and the state where your conviction occurred. All inquiries are reviewed by our legal team.

Alford pleas force wrongfully incarcerated people to make an impossible choice: accept a conviction for a crime they did not commit or remain in prison indefinitely. While maintaining their innocence, they plead guilty in exchange for freedom — often giving up any path to full exoneration. At Life After Justice, we call these "Pleas for Freedom" — honoring these individuals as survivors, elevating their stories, and challenging a system that makes freedom contingent on surrendering innocence.

Incentivized informant testimony is one of the leading — and most preventable — causes of wrongful convictions. Between 1989 and 2020, jailhouse informant testimony contributed to 17% of the 375 DNA exonerations in the U.S. LAJ's National Incentivized Informants Research Project is a first-of-its-kind in depth and scope effort to examine the role of all types of incentivized informants in known wrongful convictions across the country, partnering with researchers from Cornell University and Boston College.

Yes. Life After Justice offers Summer and Academic-Year internship programs for law students. We welcome interns eager to learn, reflect, and contribute to work that restores lives and strengthens systems. At LAJ, we are committed to developing the next generation of legal and policy leaders who understand that justice is not abstract — it is deeply human. Apply by emailing [email protected].

Life After Justice's Holistic Mental Health & Wellness Program is a deliberately structured, evidence-building pilot initiative designed to build, test, and refine a survivor-created model of trauma-informed care for people harmed by wrongful incarceration and their loved ones. It launched in October 2022 and supports participants across mental and emotional health, relationships, physical well-being, and personal growth.

Services are available to individuals who have experienced wrongful incarceration and their immediate family members and loved ones. The program currently serves a limited number of participants as part of the pilot phase, with a waiting list for those seeking support. Reach out at [email protected] to learn more.

Yes. The pilot covers treatment costs for participants without insurance and offers virtual care when needed. No participant is excluded due to cost, location, or lack of prior access to care. The program also supports access to nutrition services, yoga and movement practices, and art-based therapeutic services alongside traditional therapy.

Life After Justice partners with licensed mental health professionals and wellness providers committed to trauma-informed, healing-centered care. Providers work alongside LAJ to deliver care that meets people where they are and help shape a model of support that promotes long-term healing and stability beyond release. If this work aligns with your practice and values, we welcome the opportunity to connect. Reach out at [email protected].

The National Amplification Campaign is the first-of-its-kind in depth and scope survivor-led national survey designed by and for people directly impacted by wrongful incarceration and their loved ones. Guided by the principle "Nothing About Us Without Us," this campaign gathers lived experience through a statistically reliable national sample to illuminate the real needs of the innocence community.

Complete a short sign-up form to confirm eligibility. You'll receive a private survey link within 3–5 business days. The survey takes about 30–60 minutes and your progress saves automatically. Participants receive $50 compensation for their time. All responses are confidential and anonymous. Sign up here.

The data collected directly informs advocacy and data-driven strategic litigation, mental health and wellness programs, reentry and long-term support initiatives, and policy reform at local, state, and federal levels. Research is not an endpoint — it is the foundation. When lived experience becomes data, it becomes proof, and proof drives lasting change.

Yes. Life After Justice actively seeks research partnerships — we already partner with researchers from Cornell University WyLab and Boston College Morality Lab on the Incentivized Informants Research Project. Reach out to Dr. Vanessa Bouch\u00e9, Director of Research, at [email protected].

You can donate online at lifeafterjustice.org through our secure donation form. To donate by mail, send a check payable to Life After Justice to: 4455 South King Drive, Suite 100A, Chicago, IL 60653.

Yes. Life After Justice is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All charitable contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

For major gifts, connect with William Jones, Senior Director of Advancement and Planning, at [email protected]. We offer named gift opportunities and the Founders' Circle — a leadership giving community for donors committed to advancing justice, healing, and systemic reform at scale.

Freedom is not enough. Healing is justice. Your gift fuels all three pillars of our work: holding systems accountable through strategic litigation, turning experience into evidence through survivor-led research, and healing that lasts beyond release through our holistic mental health pilot program — because justice requires accountability, healing, and prevention working together.

You can donate, become a partner organization, apply for our legal internship program, join the LAJ Care Network as a licensed mental health provider, or participate in the National Amplification Campaign survey. We welcome conversations with individuals, families, and institutions interested in advancing justice, healing, and long-term systems change alongside Life After Justice. Reach out at [email protected].

Life After Justice welcomes media inquiries. For press requests, interview inquiries, or requests for comment, reach out at [email protected] and indicate your inquiry is media-related. Include your name, outlet, deadline, and the topic you're working on.