He was going to be convicted anyway. His book is a harrowing masterpiece 'Let sleeping dogs lie': Lynching memorial angers some Anthony Ray Hinton. If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. He organized a book club that was allowed to meet in the prison's law library. [4] Hinton's book received extremely positive reviews. . On July 31, 1985, the police arrested Anthony Ray Hinton for murder. Wrongly convicted, he was on death row for decades. Anthony Ray Hinton spoke at Allegheny College on Thursday, Sept. 20. . (What were the five reasons given by the white police officer that guaranteed Mr. Hintons supposed guilt?) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. There is no question A An all-white jury sentenced him guilty of two counts of capital murder and to death by electric chair.. 1. The prosecutorwho had a documented history of racial bias and said he could tell Mr. Hinton was guilty and evil solely from his appearancetold the court that the States experts asserted match between Mrs. Hintons gun and the bullets from all three crimes was the only evidence linking Mr. Hinton to the Davidson and Vason murders. Among their efforts for criminal justice reform, the non-profit provides legal aid to those whove been imprisoned unjustly. An Alabama man has been freed after spending nearly 30 years on death row. Ray still remembers one of their last conversations before Henrys execution in 1997. On Sunday, January 10, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Anthony Ray Hinton, who was exonerated on April 3, 2015 after spending nearly 30 years on Alabamas death row. Our tax dollars that paid for the judge and the prosecutor that prosecuted him. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice, Rekindling the Power of God Within to Effect Change. The Equal Justice Initiative assisted Hinton so that he could cast a ballot for Doug Jones in the 2017 special Senate election. The credibility of his ballistics expert - the only one the attorney thought he could hire with the funds available - was discredited by the prosecutor due to the expert's physical limitations and lack of experience. Alabama law provides that compensation may be awarded to a wrongfully incarcerated person if the Committee on Compensation for Wrongful Incarceration finds that hemeets the eligibility criteria, but applying for compensation is often a meaningless exercise because the statute requires alegislative enactment toappropriate the necessary funds. Mr. Hintons words were among the starkest reminders that, despite the joyous atmosphere surrounding his release, the case against him had spurred another reckoning for Alabama and a legal system that critics said appeared troubled by obstinacy and arrogance. The bill never even made it out of committee. The prosecutors who filed the motion to dismiss the case did not respond to messages seeking comment, and, through a spokesman, the Alabama attorney general declined to be interviewed. Hinton declined to sign it. Anthony, or Ray, still remembers the arresting officer's chilling words. On February 24, 2014, the Supreme Court today unanimously granted relief to Anthony Hinton, finding that his trial lawyer was constitutionally deficient. Anthony Hinton (left) with attorney Bryan Stevenson following a hearing at which EJI argued all charges against Mr. Hinton must be dismissed immediately. All the while, Mr. Hinton remained at a prison in south Alabama, awaiting his execution. by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin The Sun Does Shine is a powerful examination of both our flawed justice system and of one man's personal resilience and faith. Founded by a lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, it had a track record of overturning unjust convictions and in winning a. Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years in prison 28 on death row for a crime he didn't commit, and he has been busy since his 2015 exoneration. Hinton also had an alibi he was employedata warehouse at the time of the murders, and his boss said on the stand that Hinton was at work at the time of at least one of the murders, The Guardian reports. American activist, writer, and author (born 1956), List of wrongful convictions in the United States, "Anthony Ray Hinton Spent Almost 30 Years on Death Row. Mr. Hintons application was approved by the committee, and this session,State Senator Paul Bussman sponsored a bill to appropriate the funds to compensateMr. Hinton. The 64-year-old, whose story was featured in the HBO documentary film True Justice, is one of thousands of formerly incarcerated Americans who are casting ballots amid a new movement to restore their reentry into society and a reckoning on criminal justice and racism in America. I hated those men that did this to me.. During his decades in prison, he was supported by his mother's faith in his innocence, as well as that of a longtime friend, Lester Bailey, who visited him monthly. Dont miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House. When Hinton was done eating, about half past six, he drove to the polling location where he would cast his first vote in a presidential election since he was released from Alabamas death row. But on July 31, 1985, 29-year-old Ray's life changes drastically when the police arrest him for a series of murders that Ray didn't commit. 3. How the case against him unraveled", "Alabama death row inmate freed after 30 years", "Book Marks reviews of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton, co-written with Lara Love Hardin", "The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin review", "Death row survivor returns to address #Bonas seniors", "Death row survivor Anthony Ray Hinton to keynote Bona's 159th Commencement", "They Couldnt Take My Soul": Anthony Ray Hinton on His Exoneration After 30 Years on Death Row, "How to Survive Death Row: Anthony Ray Hinton served 30 years in prison for murders he didn't commit. Anthony Ray Hinton. What do you do when you tell a lawyer that youre innocent and he looks at you and says, The problem with that statement. "Real Love had no Color" - Falsely Convicted Black Man Encounters Jesus on Death Row, Falsely Convicted Of Murder, Man Spends 30 Years In Prison Sharing Jesus, Bob Marley Turned To Christ Before His Death Professing, Jesus Take Me, Jewish Woman Hears Gods Voice While Being Revived, Youre Not Dying Here. I dont think the society nor the men that did this to me realized what they took from me, says Ray. When Hinton convinces the prison warden about halfway through his three decades of imprisonment to allow him to receive books besides the Bible so that he can form a book club, the reader shares the exhilaration of Hinton and half a dozen of his fellow prisoners as they are finally able to travel outside the walls of the prison, through the words of James Baldwin and Harper Lee. That paid for the experts who got it wrong. In the interview, Hinton described how issues of race permeated his case. St. Bonaventure University in New York awarded Hinton an honorary doctorate degree in May. Legislators Wont Compensate Innocent Man for 30 Years on Death Row. The 29-year-old found himself helpless and questioned God what he did so wrong for it to happen to him. Hes also written a book about his journey of forgiveness and redemption, hoping his story will inspire change and healing. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Nearly 30 years after the Alabama authorities relied on analyses of a handgun and bullets to send him to death row, Anthony Ray Hinton was freed on Friday after experts undermined the states case. 4. [2] Hinton was sentenced to death and held on the state's death row for 28 years before his 2015 release.[2][3][4][5][6]. That paid to keep him on death row for 30 years for a crime he didnt commit. On July 25, 1985, a restaurant in Bessemer was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. He went on tospend 28 years on death row 30 yearsin all, without his freedom. In 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned his conviction on appeal, after which the state dropped all charges against him. In 2018, Alabama residents who were previously convicted of felonies were able to register to vote under the Moral Turpitude Act of 2017. He . After 30 years in custody for crimes he did not commit, Mr. Hintons release is bittersweet. This was contested by another expert,a civil engineer with visual impairments hired by Hintons public defender. There was no evidence at all to tie Hinton to two of the three murders he was accused of, and he was locked in a supermarket warehouse cleaning floors when a restaurant manager 15 miles away was abducted, robbed and shot. [citation needed] Hinton's mother died in 2002. In this lesson, students meet. A man released from prison after nearly 30 years on death row in Alabama has blamed his conviction on being black and poor. The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. Do You Know These 14 Hebrew Names of God? You want to know why?, Number one, youre black. Today, as EJI Community Educator, hes a tireless and powerful advocate for abolition of the death penalty. Disclamer: the number about Anthony Ray Hinton's Instagram salary income and Anthony Ray Hinton's Instagram net worth are just estimation based on publicly available information about Instagram's monetization programs, it is by . And youre going to take the rap. The judge finally dismissed the charges after prosecutors said that scientists at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences tested the evidence and confirmed that the crime bullets cannot be matched to the Hinton weapon. After 30 years on death row, Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated over two years ago.