Former President Jimmy Carter to receive justice award in Phoenix
Jan 27, 2017, 7:47 AM | Updated: 7:49 pm
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Former President Jimmy Carter will be in Phoenix on Friday to accept an award for his continued efforts in fighting for justice.
Carter will be honored with the 2017 O’Connor Justice Prize, named for retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of Arizona. The award is given to individuals whose work pushes ahead the “rule of law, justice and human rights.”
Carter, 92, was tapped for the $40,000 prize in September.
ASU’s law school, named after O’Connor, oversees the annual award, in its third year. O’Connor was expected to be at the event at the Arizona Biltmore. About 300 guests were invited.
Law school officials said Carter was chosen for the award because of a long list of accomplishments, including his humanitarian work and advancing justice and social causes.
The 39th president of the United States won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Carter, whose not-for-profitCarter Center works to improve quality of life for people all over the world, announced in 2015 that he been diagnosed with cancer of his brain and liver. Months later he was in remission.
He is the first American to earn the award.
Previous winners were Ana Palacio, a former minister of foreign affairs in Spain, and Dr. Navanethem Pillay, a former United Nations officials, from South Africa.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
