Anthony Ray Hinton - Equal Justice Initiative He has received no compensation. "I want to be a light for people:" Former death row inmate Anthony Ray Anthony Ray, then a 29-year-old warehouseman, was mowing his mum's lawn when his life was torn apart in July 1985. Yes, Im going to write and spread His love because I love Him and His people, and my heart is to live for Him. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, has proposed legislation to grant Anthony Ray Hinton $1.5 million over three years. Soon after, prosecutors pushed for conviction upon him, and his appeal for innocence was defeated. Anthony Ray Hinton: Alabama death row inmate freed | CNN If you think there is no reason for another book about a grave miscarriage of American justice, think again. 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 legislature has resisted approval of this payment, as state authorities say that he did not prove his innocence. [4], Hinton's initial appeals continued to be handled by his public defender, Sheldon C. Perhacs, who lost each of Hintons cases. Overview: The struggle to adapt to life after conviction is a major challenge, especially for those who were innocent of the crime that led to a prison sentence. Hinton was freed on the morning Friday, April 3, 2015, the 152nd death row inmate exonerated since 1983, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. In 1985, Hinton was arrested and charged with two capital murders based solely on the assertion that a dusty revolver taken from his mother's home was the gun used in both murders and in a third uncharged crime. [emailprotected]. 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. Alabaman on death row for 30 years vows to vote out Trump In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. YouTube | 700 Club Interactive "There's five things they're going to convict you to," the officer told him. Hinton is the 152nd person since 1973 to be exonerated from death row in the United States, and the sixth in the state of Alabama. Anthony Hinton (left) with attorney Bryan Stevenson following a hearing at which EJI argued all charges against Mr. Hinton must be dismissed immediately. What did I do? Ray was arrested, convicted, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit. Anthony Ray Hinton (born June 1, 1956) is an American man who was wrongly convicted of the 1985 murders of two fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham, Alabama, sentenced to death, and held on the state's death row for 28 years. He has also guest lectured at multiple universities and travels the country giving professional development on comics as engaging literature. Number two, a white man gonna say you shot him. And so it was not until Friday at 9:30 a.m., one day after a Circuit Court judge ordered his release, that Mr. Hinton exited the jail to hugs, tears and wails of Thank you, Lord!, The State of Alabama let me down tremendously, Mr. Hinton said in his first interview after his release. Former death row inmate to share story at Germanna - Fredericksburg.com "30 Years in Hell": Anthony Ray Hinton delivers powerful lecture Pastor Glen Berteau wants to reignite the fire of God within believers that have allowed their faith to become dormant. "[unreliable source?] Anthony Ray Hinton Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree, Alabama Man Freed After Decades on Death Row, Freed Death Row Inmate: Humor Saved Me from Satan, 122 Commerce Street Montgomery, AL 36104 [9], Hinton was sent to death row, where he was held in solitary confinement for nearly three decades. Four, youre gonna have a white judge. Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast food restaurant managers and sentenced to death at the age of 29. Anthony Hinton was arrested after the manager identified him from a photo lineup, even though he was working in a locked warehouse fifteen miles away at the time of the crime. BY DEBORAH McKEON | TELEGRAM STAFF. Anthony Ray Hinton Wrongfully Spent 30 Years on Death Row - Videos Though a 29-year-old Anthony Hinton was working at a locked warehouse 15 miles away at the time of the second crime, and although there were no eyewitness accounts of the first incident, he was arrested one evening while cutting the grass outside of his mother's house . The only expert willing to testify at that price was a civil engineer with very little ballistics training and limited by having one eye; he admitted in court to having trouble in operating the microscope. His peaceful morning was quickly interrupted when police officers - with a warrant for Hinton's arrest - taunted, handcuffed and arrested the teenage Hinton. This lesson is part of NewsHours Searching for Justice series on criminal justice reform. Get a daily devotional and encouraging 2-3minute video direct to your inbox. One of the longest serving death row prisoners in Alabama history and among the longest serving condemned prisoners to be freed after presenting evidence of innocence, Mr. Hinton was the 152nd person exonerated from death row since 1983. Hintonstarted a book club while he was incarcerated, and went on to write a memoir about his experience, called, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. Since its publication in 2018, the book has been widely praised, with Oprah Winfrey selecting it for her official book club last June and applauding Hinton in a string of interviews, according to CBS This Morning. Despite Rays ironclad alibi for at least one of the robberies, and the lack of solid evidence, prosecutors pushed for a conviction. [11] Hinton's original defense lawyer had wrongly thought he had only $1,000 available to hire a ballistics expert to rebut the states case on evidence. The civil engineer testified that the ballistics test did not link the gun authorities found to either of the shootings. This was contested by another expert,a civil engineer with visual impairments hired by Hintons public defender. He woke up at 5 a.m., showered, brewed himself some coffee and, not knowing how long he would have to wait, made himself breakfast that would stick to his ribs. They didn't care. Nightline profiles Mr. Hintons release and his first days of freedom. This is my Yes to Papa God. But while Im here, everything around me gonna live. 60 Minutes Profiles Life After Death Row for Exoneree Anthony Ray Hinton Your natural reaction was it-it's over. St. Bonaventure University in New York awarded Hinton an honorary doctorate degree in May. All rights reserved. Anthony Ray Hinton, Alabama Man Who Spent 30 Years on Death Row, Has Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. Im going to bring the best out of everybody that come in touch with me, says Ray. Hinton was convicted of each of the two murders and sentenced to death. They gonna say you shot him. But, Hinton was still convicted and sentenced to death. Officers had retrieved . Then in 1998, the Equal Justice Initiative, or EJI, decided to take Rays case. Mr. Hintons release from the Jefferson County jail, where he was being held awaiting a new trial that was ordered last year, came close to three decades after a court-appointed lawyer mounted such a feeble defense that the United States Supreme Court ruled it was constitutionally deficient.. Alabama Refuses Compensation to Innocent Man Who Spent 30 Years on Anthony Ray Hinton - Wikipedia Then Anthony spent the first three years in the prison full of bitterness in his heart. "Just Mercy" opens in limited release on Christmas Day, and hits theaters everywhere on Jan. 10. In 2015, Hintons 30 years of unbroken prayers were answered and the nations highest court ruled unanimously in his favor. [15] Writing for The Guardian, Tim Adams described the book as, "a story of forgiveness and struggle"[16] and concludes that, "his wonderful memoir recreates the ways he escaped from his cell in his head had tea with the Queen of England, married Halle Berry and how he shared that possibility with his fellow death row inmates. Anthony Ray Hinton From 'Just Mercy': What Happened After HIs Release On February 23, 1985, 49-year-old John Davidson, the assistant manager of Mrs. Winner's fried chicken restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, was fatally shot in an after-hours robbery. Hinton was granted a new trial, and the charges were dismissed after prosecutors said that the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences determined that the bullets that killed the restaurant managers could not have been used with Hintons mothers gun. 'Racist cops framed me for murder and left me on Death Row for 30 years Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! Ive got to forgive, he said. Bryan Stevenson, one of Mr. Hintons lawyers and the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said Mr. Hintons right to justice had been limited as an impoverished black man. A woman suspects a stroke as her eyes twitch and she experiences slurred speech. Students will examine the challenges faced by individuals wrongfully convicted of felonies. Have students write a personal response summarizing the video How do you feel after seeing Hintons struggle with the criminal justice system? New York Times bestselling book by Anthony Ray Hinton. How was the case finally overturned? And number five, youre gonna have an all-white jury.. 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. Error: There was an internal error submitting your form. Death row survivor Anthony Ray Hinton to keynote Bona's 159th Commencement Alabamas Jim Crow-era constitution openly intended felony disenfranchisement and the biased criminal legal system that ensnared Mr. Hinton to work hand in hand to squash Black political power, she added. And you know why? I said, No. He said, You got a white man. Perhacs hired a civil engineer who had impaired vision and didnt have any forensic experience. [citation needed] Hinton's mother died in 2002. Mr. Perhacss choice a man later described by a prosecutor as a one-eyed charlatan did little to help the defense, and Mr. Hinton was convicted and sentenced to death. [18] He had previously spoken to the students of the Class of 2019, six months after his release, in 2015. "[16] Kirkus Reviews calls the book, "a heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about truth, justice, and the need for criminal justice reform. Ive always felt that I have the Supreme Lawyer, says Ray. Ray stayed on death row until the US Supreme Court overturned his sentence in 2015nearly thirty years later. The bill never even made it out of committee. Ray would spend his time fighting not only a legal system that would block every one of his appeals, but the bitterness in his heart. Hinton's case was taken up by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Ala. officials: Freed death row inmate not due compensation - Corrections1 [3], On April 3, 2015, Hinton was released from prison after Laura Petro, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge, overturned his conviction and the state dropped all charges against him.[2][6]. On July 25, 1985, a restaurant in Bessemer was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. The engineer said that there wasnt any connection between the weapon and the shooting. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Only by the grace of God, says Ray. YOU HAVE 20,000 FOLLOWERS: $100 per post at a $5/CPM. $140 per post at $7/CPM. He went on tospend 28 years on death row 30 yearsin all, without his freedom. Hintons luck changed, however, when Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer with the Equal Justice Initiative, took on his case. What happened to make him stop accepting defeat and start fighting back? Justice Served After 30-Year Prison Sentence | CBN.com What are your thoughts about the death penalty after reading this article? However, the number of members also gradually became smaller when book club members were executed. 4 years after death row exoneration, Anthony Ray Hinton is a voice for "To be accused of murder, itto me, it-it don't get no worse than that," says Anthony. At the same time, Republican lawmakers introduced the Fair Justice Act. As Mr. Hinton wrote in an op-ed, had the Fair Justice Act been in place when he was convicted, I would have been executed despite my innocence. Like other men and women sentenced to death in Alabama, where there is no state-funded office to provide counsel for postconviction proceedings,it took years to find volunteer lawyers willing and able to provide the legal assistance Mr. Hinton needed to prove his innocence. Hence, he asked God to remove the hatred and bitterness in his heart. Rays mother, whod visited him almost every week since his incarceration, died in 2002. Hinton was freed in 2015 after spending 28 years on death row for two 1985 murders that occurred during separate robberies of fast-food restaurants in Birmingham. Authorities arrested Hinton in 1985, after a string of robberies at restaurants in Birmingham. So I believe in the promise of hope alive, he said. Following his release, Hinton famously remarked, The sun do shine., Thirty years ago, the prosecution seemed deemed to take my life from me, he continued, according to an NPR report.