The Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO) will hold its 24th Anniversary “Oh, Freedom!” Gala this fall.

The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at The Terminal at the Lakefront Airport (6001 Stars and Stripes Blvd., New Orleans). The Patron Party is from 5-6:30 p.m, and the Gala is from 6:30-9:30 p.m. IPNO exoneree Calvin Duncan, who was wrongfully incarcerated for 28 years, will be at the Patron Party to discuss writing his memoir, The Jailhouse Lawyer, which is being published this July.  There will also be a silent auction and an exciting announcement about IPNO.

IPNO frees innocent people sentenced to life in prison and those serving unjust sentences. The organization recognizes the root causes of wrongful convictions and unjust sentences as systemic racism and inequities. They work to expose and address these root causes by sharing clients’ stories in court, the legislature, the community and the media. They continue to support their clients living well and fully in the world after their release.

IPNO began when founding director Emily Bolton was awarded a two-year fellowship from the National Association for Public Interest Law (now Equal Justice Works) in 2000 to review the cases of life-sentenced inmates in Louisiana who may have been wrongly convicted but had no way of proving it from inside prison without a lawyer.

Incorporated as a two-person operation in 2001, IPNO has since grown to be one of the most successful innocence projects in the country. As a free-standing, non-profit law office with specialized full-time staff attorneys and investigators working cases from start to finish, IPNO is supported by scores of law school and undergraduate student volunteers, all of whom make it possible for the legal team to provide professional representation to innocent prisoners at no cost.

For more information and for tickets, visit their website here.