Feb. 22, 2018

One Injustice is One Too Many

Top, left: Kathy Crowe, Patti Herf and Dr. Jack Crowe. Bottom, left: James Fleming, Maria and Drayton Witt, Kindra Fleming, Frances Hammond, Rich Robertson and Emma and Todd Isakson. Top, right: Jerry Hirsch, Lindsay Herf and Souheir Dushoff. Bottom, right: Amanda Hammond, Chad Swenka and Larry Hammond

The Arizona Justice Project celebrated its 20th anniversary with its inaugural gala One Injustice is One Injustice Too Many. The Feb. 10 event at Phoenix Country Club included a cocktail hour and buffet dinner, and raised more than $100,000. The funds will enable the organization to continue identifying the wrongly convicted in Arizona and work to bring them home.

The evening honored Larry Hammond, partner at the law firm of Osborn Maledon. Hammond is the founder of the Arizona Justice Project, former clerk at the United States Supreme Court, assistant Watergate special prosecutor and chair of the Arizona State Bar’s Indigent Defense Task Force. The keynote speaker was Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, which is dedicated to exonerating the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. Lindsay Herf, Arizona Justice Project executive director, and Hammond also spoke at the gala.

In addition to raising funds, the evening spread awareness of the organization’s longstanding mission of seeking justice for the innocent and wrongly imprisoned, and to share the stories of those it has helped free, featuring Arizona Justice Project clients Khalil Rushdan and Drayton Witt.

Rich Robertson, founder of R3 Investigations and former investigative journalist with The Arizona Republic, KPHO-TV CBS 5 and KPNX-TV 12, served as the evening’s emcee.

PHOTOS COURTESY ARIZONA JUSTICE PROJECT