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. The civil engineer testified that the ballistics test did not link the gun authorities found to either of the shootings. Since Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated and released from death row over two years ago, Alabama lawmakers have not only refused to compensate him for the three decades he spent on death row for a crimehe did not commit, but also passed legislation changing the appeals process in death penalty cases so that innocent people like Mr. Hinton now face aneven greater risk of being executed. Still, even though Stevenson had new ballistics tests performed on Hintons behalf, the Alabama courts denied the appeal, after taking two years to deliberate. The first three years, I was in a stage of hating, says Ray. He-he-he's going to be executed, says Lester. In 2020, all of the candidates he voted for were Democrats. I couldnt vote at one time in the state of Alabama, you couldnt marry outside of your race, you had to go to the back to get something to eat. What did Hinton say were the five reasons given by the police officer that guaranteed his conviction? State prosecutors never questioned the new findings but nonetheless refused to re-examine the case or concede error. Anthony hated the men who did it to him. One of his arresting officers explained his fate this way, after the prisoner told him he could prove he had been working at the time of one of the murders: You know, I dont even care whether you did or didnt do it In fact, I believe you didnt do it. Anthony Ray Hinton was a man wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit back in the year 1985 and what happened was that two fast food restaurants in Birmingham Alabama were robbed and both Mangers were shot dead named Thomas Vason and John Davidson and on a later date of July 25th on the same year another restaurant was robbed in Bessemer Read the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution below and determine which of the five reasons from the second question of activity 1 were unconstitutional. And looked at the evidence and they said this is, you know, there is no match here. Despite the new evidence, the courts still refused to reopen Rays case. Anthony Ray Hinton spent decades in jail for crimes he did not commit. His peaceful morning was quickly interrupted when police officers - with a warrant for Hinton's arrest - taunted, handcuffed and arrested the teenage Hinton. Number two, a white man is gonna say you shot him, whether you shot him or not, believe, me I dont care, says Ray. At Holman Correctional Facility, Rays cell was a mere 30 feet from the execution chair they called Yellow Mama. 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. The lecture began with Hinton recounting the day of his arrest in extreme detail. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. 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. [4], Doug Acker, a detective, attempted to persuade Hinton to sign a blank sheet of paper telling him [Hinton] that it was just to confirm that he had already read his rights. 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. Fourteen months later, the district attorney in Alabama finally abandoned the case, and Hinton went free. Pain and terror: America's history of racism, Let sleeping dogs lie: Lynching memorial angers some. In 1985, two Birmingham area fast-food restaurants were robbed and the managers, John Davidson and Thomas Wayne Vason, were fatally shot. Hinton's case was taken up by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Hear Marc Meros reflection on life inside the ring, what knocked him out and A woman is diagnosed with cancer and its spreading quickly. The Lost Books Of The Bible: Should We Accept Or Reject? What were the charges brought against Hinton? Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. But then, soon, he realized he became the person his mother didnt raise him to be. [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. He has also guest lectured at multiple universities and travels the country giving professional development on comics as engaging literature. -- Anthony Ray Hinton spent more than half his life on death row in southern Alabama. He left Notre Dame Law students with a challenge to serve justice. Stunned, [citation needed] Hinton's mother died in 2002. He . Click here for more stories in the series and watch for more NewsHour EXTRA lesson content based on Searching for Justice stories. 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.. Since Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated and released from death row over two years ago, Alabama lawmakers have not only refused to compensate him for the three decades he spent on death row for a crime he did not commit, but also passed legislation changing the appeals process in death penalty cases so that innocent people like Mr . 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. That aint what He said. [4] After being released, Hinton wrote and published a memoir The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (2018). Discover steps to bring you closer to Christ. Hinton was a special guest and speaker at 442 Orange St. on Tuesday evening for an event honoring the innocent on death row hosted by Jewish society Shabtai. Hinton declined to sign it. Students will discuss systemic error in the criminal justice system and the real impact of wrongful convictions on individual lives. Mar 27, 2019 . Hinton spent 28 years on death row for two robbery-murders in the Birmingham, Ala., area in the mid-1980s. After a few years, the club grew as the news spread quickly in the prison that reading was a good escape. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, has proposed legislation to grant Anthony Ray Hinton $1.5 million over three years. 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. On July 25, 1985, a restaurant in Bessemer was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. He added that from the outset, this case exhibited many of the classic signs of innocence.. Then in 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Rays case. He said, Number three, youre gonna have a white prosecutor. Police seized an old revolver belonging to Mr. Hinton's mother, and state firearm examiners said that was the gun used in all three crimes. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! However, the number of members also gradually became smaller when book club members were executed. Anthony Ray Hinton Exonerated After 30 Years on Death Row. Ray still remembers one of their last conversations before Henrys execution in 1997. Living the Christian life is a journey. Authorities arrested Hinton in 1985, after a string of robberies at restaurants in Birmingham. 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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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The cop was right. If you could speak with anyone interviewed in the video, what are two questions you would ask them? Streamed live on Jun 15, 2022 29 Dislike Share Save Washington Post Live 54.1K subscribers Anthony Ray Hinton was sentenced to death and held in solitary confinement for 28 years on Alabama's. He told a gathering of family and supporters that "the sun does shine." Hinton, 59, wiped . They didn't care. The refusal of state prosecutors to re-examine this case despite persuasive and reliable evidence of innocence is disappointing and troubling.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The court was unable to affirm the forensic evidence of a gun, which was the only evidence in the first trial. By AFP Reporters Alabaman Anthony Ray Hinton, an African American spent 30 years on death row because, he says, he was "black and poor." His name finally cleared in Alabama, he now campaigns for justice which he says can only be achieved by beating Donald Trump at the ballot box. Ray was arrested, convicted, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit. We are thrilled that Mr. Hinton will finally be released because he has unnecessarily spent years on Alabamas death row when evidence of his innocence was clearly presented, said his lead attorney, Bryan Stevenson. 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. But it doesnt matter. I truly believe God sent me to death row to meet Henry Francis Hays, says Ray. 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, 58, was convicted of murdering two restaurant managers in Birmingham in 1985, but was granted a new . This article was published more than2 years ago. In 1985 Hinton was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of two fast-food restaurant managers in Birmingham, Ala., with the charges hinging on a revolver that had belonged to his. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years . 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?. He said to Hinton, "All of y'all blacks always say you didnt do something. Ray has a strong alibi for one of the incidents, and the supposed murder weapon, Ray's mom's gun, hasn't been fired in years, but the authorities refuse to consider this. [10] The Court ruled that Hinton's original defense lawyer had provided "constitutionally deficient" ineffective assistance of counsel, and remanded his case to the Alabama state court for retrial. What are your thoughts about the death penalty after reading this article? Biden enlists potential rivals as advisers ahead of 2024, Their toddler took a nap in an Airbnb and fentanyl killed her. Students will examine the challenges faced by individuals wrongfully convicted of felonies. Their forensics experts were unable to match crime-scene bullets to Hinton's mother's gun. [4], After Hinton had been on death row for about a decade, Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a non-profit based in Montgomery, Alabama, picked up his case,[4] handling his defense for 16 years. What was the turning point in prison for Hinton? Plus, two long lost cousins Hooked on drugs before he was a teen, a meth addict has only one goal in life. On Friday, Mr. Hinton was presented with some of the modern conveniences that emerged during his decades in prison, including an iPhone. Mr. Hinton wrote: Because the so called Fair Justice Actnow pending before the state legislatureputs time restrictions on how long death row prisoners have to prove their innocence or a wrongful conviction, this legislation increases the risk of executing innocent people and makes our system even less fair. [4], The prosecution's only evidence at the trial was a statement that ballistics tests showed four crime scene bullets matched Hinton's mother's gun, which was discovered at her house during the investigation. In 1985 Hinton was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of two fast-food restaurant managers in Birmingham, Ala., with the charges hinging on a revolver that had belonged to his mother. . 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. [3], In February 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the state court conviction in a unanimous per curiam decision.