CBN's ministry is made possible by the support of our CBN Partners. It was 1986. I have never experienced anything like it.. [3], In February 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the state court conviction in a unanimous per curiam decision. EJI attorneys engaged three of the nation's top firearms . Alabama inmate Anthony Ray Hinton walked out of prison Friday as a free man after 30 years on death row. At Holman Correctional Facility, Rays cell was a mere 30 feet from the execution chair they called Yellow Mama. They didn't care. What are the mistakes in the case against Mr. Hinton? But, Hinton was still convicted and sentenced to death. The only potential evidence that proves Mr. Hinton committed the murders depends upon an absolute, conclusive determination that the bullets recovered from their bodies were in fact fired through the barrel of the firearm taken from the defendants home, prosecutors wrote in their court filing on Wednesday. And you know why? I said, No. He said, You got a white man. Anthony Ray Hinton walked out of the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, a free man for the first time in 30 years at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2015. In "True Justice" one of Mr. Stevenson's clients Anthony Ray Hinton discusses his arrest. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Mr. Hinton is the 152nd person exonerated from an American death row since 1973. 1. Anthony Ray Hinton's wrongful conviction and time on death row is featured in the upcoming drama, Just Mercy. The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, follows attorney Brian Stevenson as he fights for the wrongly imprisoned including Hinton. I write mainly, not to express myself, but to encourage and bless people through writing. [4] Hinton was portrayed by O'Shea Jackson Jr. in the 2019 film Just Mercy. 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.. My only crime was being born black in Alabama, Hinton writes, his prosecution nothing less than a lynching in which the white robes of the Ku Klux Klan were replaced by the black robes of justice. [4], After Hinton's arrest, his public defense attorney did not provide adequate counsel. Then in 1998, the Equal Justice Initiative, or EJI, decided to take Rays case. Hinton began his talk by explaining the context of his arrest, where he was charged with first-degree robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder. 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. Anthony Ray Hinton was released from prison in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday. Hintons public defender was roundly criticized for his work hetried to appeal his case and routinely failed, according to The Guardian. For Ray, it was a bittersweet moment. Hinton spent 28 years on death row for two robbery-murders in the Birmingham, Ala., area in the mid-1980s. Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast food restaurant managers and sentenced to death at the age of 29. Former death row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton, who was exonerated in 2015 after spending nearly 30 years behind bars in Alabama, says he has forgiven the state for its decades-long injustice. [citation needed] Hinton's mother died in 2002. An all-white jury would find Ray guilty of two counts of capital murder and sentence him to death by electric chair. Since his release, Hinton has spoken in various venues about the injustices of the Alabama judicial system and other issues related to his conviction and imprisonment. Stunned, 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. If you didnt do it, one of your brothers did. Anthony Hinton (left) with attorney Bryan Stevenson following a hearing at which EJI argued all charges against Mr. Hinton must be dismissed immediately. In 1985 he was convicted of the murders of two restaurant workers in Birmingham, Ala. Thirty years later . We hired three of the nations best firearms experts, says Charlotte. On Tuesday, he cast a vote for president. Dick Kearns, Fr. 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. In recent days leading up to the vote, Hinton had been thinking more about his grandparents and his parents, who he said werent allowed to vote because of voter suppression such as literacy tests, polls taxes and intimidation. After 30 years on death row, Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated over two years ago. After 28 years of living in a cell that was five . Ive always felt that I have the Supreme Lawyer, says Ray. See Innocence and Race. 1. "If God hadn't intervened and sent me his best lawyer, within two years I would . Under the Fair Justice Act, I'd be dead. Having spent 30 years on. (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. Can God change your life? The first three years, I was in a stage of hating, says Ray. The sun does shine, he said as he was embraced by family and friends. Yes, Im going to write and spread His love because I love Him and His people, and my heart is to live for Him. In 2015, Hintons 30 years of unbroken prayers were answered and the nations highest court ruled unanimously in his favor. He said to Hinton, "All of y'all blacks always say you didnt do something. At the time, Hinton worked at a supermarket warehouse and lived with his mother, Buhlar Hinton, at her home in rural Alabama, about half an hour north of Birmingham. "[16] Kirkus Reviews calls the book, "a heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about truth, justice, and the need for criminal justice reform. 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. Anthony Ray Hinton spent decades in jail for crimes he did not commit. Despite the new evidence, the courts still refused to reopen Rays case. What challenges do you think theyd face once home after a long prison stay? Police arrived at the house near Birmingham, Alabama, and arrested him for. They began, he said, with his arrest in one shooting that occurred while witnesses said he was at work miles away. Love your enemy. The only way that we will ever conquer hate is love.. FLORENCE -- Anthony Ray Hinton was mowing the grass outside the house he . Hinton would smell burning flesh from the electric chair, also called Yellow Mama, because it was close to his cell. [9], Hinton was sent to death row, where he was held in solitary confinement for nearly three decades. Hinton (portrayed in the movie by O'Shea Jackson Jr.) was arrested and convicted in Alabama in 1985 for the murders of two fast food restaurant managers who worked at different places, and who were killed months apart that year, NBC News reports. Have your students watch the video and answer the questions below. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. You dont know freedom until its taken from you, Hinton told The Washington Post on Tuesday night. Anthony Ray Hinton, age 61, now lives as a free man in the state of Alabama, where he was born and raised. The only thing reportedly linking Hinton to the crime was the word of a fast food worker who picked Hinton out of a line-up, leading to his arrest. Since then, Hinton has been able to forgive everyone responsible for his imprisonment, because thats how my mother raised me and because I have a God who forgives. Error: There was an internal error submitting your form. And to show him what real love felt like and real love had no color. EJIs probe into Rays trial was disturbing; among their findings: witnesses had been manipulated, Rays defense counsel was inept, and the surviving victims initial description of the assailant bore little resemblance to Ray. When Hinton told the arresting detective that he had the wrong man, the detective told him that he didn't care whether he did it or not. 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. Mar 30, 2016 Updated Mar 31, 2016. Send a prayer request now, or call 18007007000. However, the jury disregarded his testimony because of his poor eyesight and inability to use the microscope correctly. I dont have a choice., Alabama Man Freed After Decades on Death Row, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/us/anthony-ray-hinton-alabama-prison-freed-murder.html. I witnessed other inmates time run out, he said, and Id be lying if I said you dont ask yourself, Wow, is that going to happen to me?. Hes also written a book about his journey of forgiveness and redemption, hoping his story will inspire change and healing. The legislature has resisted approval of this payment, as state authorities say that he did not prove his innocence. Number three, youre gonna have a white district attorney. Pastor Glen Berteau wants to reignite the fire of God within believers that have allowed their faith to become dormant. First, have students answer the following questions, either in class discussion or as written answers. For 30 years, Anthony Ray Hinton sat on death row for a crime he didn't commit 30 years of "pure hell," as he described it. After every level of the Alabama court system had rejected Hintons appeals multiple times, his lawyer decided to take his case directly to the US supreme court. Executions are carried out in the name of the people of Alabama and we should all be concerned if we make oursystem less reliable and the execution of innocent people more likely. Theres five things theyre going to convict you to, the officer told him. Having spent 30 years on Alabama's death row as an innocent man, the now-freed 64-year-old knows about confinement. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! In 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned his conviction on appeal, after which the state dropped all charges against him. Anthony, or Ray, still remembers the arresting officers chilling words There are five things that gonna convict you. 2. What did Hinton say were the five reasons given by the police officer that guaranteed his conviction? 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. Tennessee Lawmakers Lynching Comment Sparks Outrage, Compared to Neighboring Tennessee, Alabamas Execution Review Falls Short, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Man Sentenced to Death in Arizona, Alabama Man Allegedly Held in Jail Freezer Dies of Hypothermia, 122 Commerce Street Montgomery, AL 36104 Now, at 58, after spending decades behind bars, Hinton is free. He . The Lost Books Of The Bible: Should We Accept Or Reject? God made it possible for you to know. On parole for petty theft, the 29-year-old was living with his mom and working as a day laborer. He also wrote a book about his time in prison called The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, which has since been selected for . Discover God's peace now. The 29-year-old found himself helpless and questioned God what he did so wrong for it to happen to him. Rays mother, whod visited him almost every week since his incarceration, died in 2002. Jesus didnt say, Hey, when an enemy come across you, I want you to hate him, says Ray. Anthony Ray Hinton. Anthony Hinton, 29 years old with no history of violent crime, steadfastly maintained his innocence. When life is unjust, turn your pain into purpose. Anthony was a man who loved God and followed the example of Jesus Christ. 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. On Friday, Mr. Hinton was presented with some of the modern conveniences that emerged during his decades in prison, including an iPhone. (You will need to make a copy of the document to edit it.). When the very people that you been taught to believe in the police, the D.A., these are the people that are supposed to stand for justice and when you know that they lied to you, its hard for you to have trust in anybody, he said. Anyone can read what you share. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. 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. Police arrest Anthony Ray Hintonthe man they believe committed three armed robberies that left two restaurant managers dead, and a third wounded. . I realized I was there because the wrong people were in office and I had a chance to begin to put men and women that are going to uphold the Constitution.. Anthony Ray Hinton was sentenced to death and held in solitary confinement for 28 years on Alabama's death row before he was exonerated in 2015. The Equal Justice Initiative assisted Hinton so that he could cast a ballot for Doug Jones in the 2017 special Senate election. That victim survived and then misidentified Hinton as his assailant; then the state completed this travesty by providing completely fake ballistic evidence to tie a gun found in Hintons mothers home to all three murders. By Jennifer Edwards Staff Writer. Get a daily devotional and encouraging 2-3minute video direct to your inbox. For more than 15 years, EJI attorneys repeatedly asked state officials to re-examine the evidence in this case, but former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, and Attorneys General from Troy King to Luther Strange, all failed to do so. YouTube | 700 Club Interactive "There's five things they're going to convict you to," the officer told him. 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. Joe Nangle will also be honored May 19 Anthony Ray Hinton will deliver the keynote address May 19 at St. Bonaventure University's 159 th Commencement ceremony, almost four years after he left an indelible impression on the class about to graduate.. Hinton was released from prison in April 2015 after spending 30 years on Alabama's death row for a crime he did . And, haltingly, he began to talk about mercy. Number four, youre gonna have a white judge. By Christina Gould, SAL Patron Services Manager. I say it because they took 30 years from me.. On July 25, 1985, a restaurant in Bessemer was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. Death Penalty Information Center | 1701 K Street NW Suite 205 Washington, DC 20006, Phone: 202-289-2275 | Email: [emailprotected], Privacy Policy | 2023 Death Penalty Information Center. AMY GOODMAN: Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast-food managers in separate robberies in 1985. Managers John Davidson and Thomas. Hinton hopes that will change, and his vote on Tuesday gave him hope that it will change soon. However, the number of members also gradually became smaller when book club members were executed. But in order for me to be free, I had no choice but to pray for those men that did this to me. So, Ray made a decision. But that isnt what makes this a genuine spiritual experience: that comes from the nearly biblical capacity of the author to endure, to forgive, and finally to triumph. $200 per post at $10/CPM. For a Google doc version of this lesson, click here. Moving forward, he chose to pray for those men who set him up instead. His peaceful morning was quickly interrupted when police officers - with a warrant for Hinton's arrest - taunted, handcuffed and arrested the teenage Hinton. By making the state postconviction process even more complicated and arbitrary, the law increases the likelihood that clients on death row will not receive full and fair review of their cases. Hinton was exonerated in 2015, when he was 59 years old, according to NBC News. 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. Read this article and answer the following questions. For your mom not to be here the day that you are released, to run into her arms and say, Im home, Mom isI try my best to be the son that she brought me up to be, says Ray. Prosecutors admitted that they could not match four bullets found at the crime scene with Hinton's mother's gun, and that this was the only evidence offered in the original murder trial. See her moment of surrender, and the miracle of life. As it concerns Alabama, however, a representative from the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama said that Hinton has yet to receive an official apology or any restitution due him from the state of Alabama. This lesson is part of NewsHours Searching for Justice series on criminal justice reform. Your natural reaction was it-it's over. And Anthony made a decision to accept the reality and still allow God to use him while in prison. [emailprotected]. EJI attorneys engaged three of the nations top firearms examiners who testified in 2002 that the revolver could not be matched to crime evidence. Anthony Ray Hinton attends "True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality" New York Screening at SVA Theater on June 24, 2019. He was convicted because hes poor, Mr. Stevenson said. And I say that not with malice in my heart. He said, Everybody that played a part in sending me to death row, you will answer to God.[5][13] Hinton filed a claim for nearly $1.5 million in compensation for his time in jail due to the wrongful conviction. He has received no compensation. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. with his arrest in one shooting that occurred while witnesses said he was at work miles away. Anthony Ray, then a 29-year-old warehouseman, was mowing his mum's lawn when his life was torn apart in July 1985. Why was it important for a white ballistics expert to be hired? Students will examine the challenges faced by individuals wrongfully convicted of felonies. Then he found hope in sharing Christ during his nearly 30 years on death row. Cases like Anthony Ray Hintons give the public pause about the death penalty, said Robert Dunham, the centers executive director. March 22, 20185:57 AM. Anthony, or Ray, still remembers the arresting officer's chilling words. [4] Finally, Hinton was the last prisoner left on death row. Because he was convicted of something, he didnt even do. In 2020, all of the candidates he voted for were Democrats. 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. The bill never even made it out of committee. 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. Searching for Justice explores criminal justice reforms unfolding across the country, as the leaders from both sides of the political aisle attempt to end mass incarceration by rethinking laws that some say have become barriers to work, housing, and economic stability. Despite his innocence, Anthony Ray Hinton lingered on death row for nearly 30 years for crimes he did not commit. What was the turning point in prison for Hinton? Authorities arrested Hinton in 1985, after a string of robberies at restaurants in Birmingham. Then Anthony spent the first three years in the prison full of bitterness in his heart. "[14] He completed a memoir entitled The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (2018), and has given readings and talks around the country about the book and his experiences. Mr. Stevenson said it was unclear whether Mr. Hinton would ever receive any compensation from the state. Published: Apr. In 2003, for instance, the Alabama attorney general said, The experts did not prove Mr. Hintons innocence, and the state does not doubt his guilt.. Feb 24, 2017 Updated Feb 24, 2017. If you could speak with anyone interviewed in the video, what are two questions you would ask them? Students will discuss systemic error in the criminal justice system and the real impact of wrongful convictions on individual lives. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Woman In Wheelchair Miraculously Takes Off Running During A Revival Service In Megachurch Pastor Who Left Ministry For A Time Returns Refreshed, Renewed, The Whosoevers Ryan Ries Kill The Noise, Finland Is Ending Homelessness With This Ingenious Idea, Why Friendships Are Vital to a Healthy Spiritual Life, Another Campus Revival Breaks Out At Cedarville University. In 2018, Alabama residents who were previously convicted of felonies were able to register to vote under the Moral Turpitude Act of 2017.
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