Honoring: Peter J. Neufeld and Barry C. Scheck, Co-Founders and Co-Directors of the Innocence Project.
Benefit Chairman: Jason Flom, President of LAVA Records, and Founding Board Member of the Innocence Project.
A Celebration of Freedom & Justice Innocence Project 25th Anniversary Benefit
Tuesday, May 16, 2017 Marriott Marquis New York
Cocktail Reception | 6:30pm
Dinner & Program | 7:30pm
Business Attire
Contact
The Benefit Office at 212.763.8599 or [email protected]
Join us on May 16, 2017 for our annual benefit A Celebration of Freedom & Justice where we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Innocence Project. When we were founded in 1992, the prospect of using DNA evidence to prove the actual innocence of wrongfully convicted individuals was just emerging. At the time, only five people had been exonerated through DNA testing, there were no statutes to provide access to post-conviction DNA testing for prisoners with claims of innocence, and only two organizations in the United States were dedicated to assessing innocence claims.
Today, 349 people have been exonerated by DNA testing in the United States, including 36 who pleaded guilty to crimes they did not commit and 20 who served time on death row. The Innocence Project provided direct representation or critical assistance in 181 of these cases. More than 100 new state and federal laws have been established to prevent and address wrongful convictions and every state provides some level of access to post-conviction DNA testing.