Event Details
This year’s gala will celebrate 25 years of litigation and advocacy for innocent and unjustly sentenced people–work that has resulted in the freedom of 78 people who served over 1745 years in prison. The evening will honor Calvin Duncan as the recipient of the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice, an award presented to individuals whose courage, leadership, and commitment have advanced the fight for freedom, accountability, and justice.
The theme of the gala is community: the community that IJLA clients and their families have with each other, with other currently and formerly incarcerated people, and with IJLA as an organization. The evening will feature an original film telling the story of the organization through the relationship of clients with one another and with IJLA.
Looking ahead to this year’s event, Executive Director Jee Park says, “For 25 years, IJLA has been on the forefront of fighting for freedom for people who should not be in prison. We are honored to be celebrating with our former clients and their families, and our allies, supporters and friends who believe in justice. We plan to continue building an equitable, unbiased and just criminal legal system where everyone is treated with dignity and humanity.”
The gala will be held in partnership with venue partner Xavier University of Louisiana and will feature premier local cuisine, an exclusive silent auction, live music, a film, a special presentation of clients, and other program moments, including the presentation of the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice to Calvin Duncan, followed by remarks from Mr. Duncan.
Calvin Duncan
John Thompson award for Courage and Justice
2026 IMPACT AWARDS
IJLA Honors 5 Leaders of the Innocence Movement
For our 25th Anniversary, we are honoring two groups of people with our Impact Award, in recognition of decades of work to advance the innocence movement and help free and exonerate our clients.
The first Impact Award recipients are Jim Boren, Jancy Hoeffel, and Rick Schroeder, whom we are recognizing for their years-long service to IJLA as the members of our Case Review Panel. The Case Review Panel independently vets all cases of post-conviction innocence in which we plan to enroll. For more than 20 years, their diligent review and invaluable expertise have helped us maintain our record of freeing or exonerating every post-conviction innocence client we represent.
The second Impact Award will go to Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. Barry and Peter pioneered the field of post-conviction DNA exoneration. Their litigation and research eventually led to the creation of rigorous national standards for forensic evidence in criminal cases. In 1992, they co-founded Innocence Project in New York City, first as a law school clinic and ultimately as a freestanding organization that has freed or exonerated more than 250 people across the country, largely through DNA evidence.
We will present the Impact Awards to the honorees at our gala on September 19. Please join us as we honor these extraordinary IJLA friends and allies and celebrate our clients.
View our 2026 Annual Gala Sponsorship Packet to learn more about available sponsorship opportunities, benefits, and ways to partner with IJLA for this milestone celebration. The packet outlines sponsorship levels, recognition opportunities, and details on how your support helps advance IJLA’s mission.
