A man who wrongfully served 16 years in prison graduated with a master's degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York on Tuesday according to NBC.
Jeffrey Deskovic was convicted of murder and rape at the tender age of 16 despite prosecutors lack of evidence.
"They wore me down after interrogating me for seven and a half hours," Deskovic said. "I didn't have an attorney present, my parents didn't know where I was, I wasn't given anything to eat."
With the help of The Innocence Project, Deskovic's conviction was overturned in 2006. Deskovic was released from prison after DNA linked someone else to the crimes. Once freed, he dedicated his second chance at life towards advancing his education and helping other wrongfully convicted inmates obtain their freedom.
According to Fox News, Deskovic "won $8.3 million for his wrongful imprisonment from New York State and Westchester County."
His settlement was used to support his academic career and fund the Jefferey Deskovic Foundation for Justice.
"I need to feel like I'm making some sort of a difference so I can make some sense out of what happened to me," Deskovic said.
The Jefferet Deskovic Foundation has successfully helped others as The Innocence Project helped Deskovic. Amongst the success stories is William Lopez.
Lopez was falsely imprisoned for 23 years and now looks to Deskovic as a reason to believe anything is possible.
"He was also incarcerated for so many years, and to have achieved this -- it's extraordinary," Lopez said.
