How have you felt the cost of life's unfairness? 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. 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. We are here to help and encourage you! As for Ray, the courts would continue to block his appeals for a retrial. If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. 3. In 2014, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned his conviction based on his attorneys deficient representation, and Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Laura Petro ordered a new trial. He also works with the U.S. State Department in a global online exchange program teaching educators and students to use comics to find their voice and to solve pressing global issues. 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. Police arrest Anthony Ray Hintonthe man they believe committed three armed robberies that left two restaurant managers dead, and a third wounded. I am passionate in sharing Gods love to the world through the skills and talents God has blessed me with. [5][7] The jury disregarded the testimony of Hinton's boss, who testified that he was at work during the time of the alleged crimes. Hinton knew it was a case of mistaken identity and naively believed that the truth would prove his innocence and set him free. The lesson asks students to consider what it would be like to be convicted of a crime you didnt commit, or be a family member of someone convicted of a crime even though they are innocent. Anthony Hinton (left) with attorney Bryan Stevenson following a hearing at which EJI argued all charges against Mr. Hinton must be dismissed immediately. In this lesson, students meet Anthony Ray Hinton, one of hundreds of people who were exonerated, or had charges against him dropped after hed been convicted and sent to prison. Men indicted on separate officer assault charges. What are your thoughts about the death penalty after reading this article? Then in 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Rays case. 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. Anthony Hinton. This has nothing to do with luck. 2. I have no respect for the prosecutors, the judges. Download the free myCBN app. In the interview, Hinton described how issues of race permeated his case. Moving forward, he chose to pray for those men who set him up instead. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. As she desperately prays for healing, hear the message she receives from God on todays A woman receives an answer to a prayer she never wanted to pray. Ray stayed on death row until the US Supreme Court overturned his sentence in 2015nearly thirty years later. Students will examine the challenges faced by individuals wrongfully convicted of felonies. Despite Rays ironclad alibi for at least one of the robberies, and the lack of solid evidence, prosecutors pushed for a conviction. As my good friend Bryan Stevenson says, the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice but justice needs help., How I got 30 years on death row for someone else's crime, 'I went to death row for 28 years through no fault of my own', Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. #ElectionDay #Vote2020 pic.twitter.com/J2eFOWnheD. Get a daily devotional and encouraging 2-3minute video direct to your inbox. He was convicted because hes poor, Mr. Stevenson said. BELTON Two Bell County men were indicted by a grand . He said, Number three, youre gonna have a white prosecutor. Hinton spent 30 years on Alabama's death row for crimes he didn't commit. 2. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Stunned, 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. Birmingham, Alabama, 1985. [emailprotected]. All the while, Mr. Hinton remained at a prison in south Alabama, awaiting his execution. In 2015, Hintons 30 years of unbroken prayers were answered and the nations highest court ruled unanimously in his favor. 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. Discuss as an entire class. Mr. Hinton, 58, argued for decades that Alabama officials including the judge who oversaw his trial and is now retired had made a series of compounding mistakes after three shootings in 1985 that left two men dead and another wounded. Mr. Hinton, 29 then, was indigent, and the Supreme Court said last year that the lawyer appointed to represent him, Sheldon C. Perhacs, had mistakenly believed he had only $1,000 to hire an expert witness for the proceedings. Im going to bring the best out of everybody that come in touch with me, says Ray. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and wrongfully charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. official, to review the forensic evidence. 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. After 28 years of living in a cell that was five . Hinton speaks about racism's role in conviction. He has become an inspirational speaker, traveling the country and the world. But as a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. No fingerprints or eyewitness testimony were introduced. The sun does shine, he said as he was embraced by family and friends. He was wrongfully convicted of two murders and served nearly three decades in jail before being released in 2015. 1. 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. Have your students watch the video and answer the questions below. He was convicted of two murders in 1985. But the book club is short-lived, after the prisoners who are left out of it convince the warden it is unfair to allow only some of them to become readers. It only takes the first two pages of the introduction by the authors equally remarkable lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, to make the reader appalled. Students will look at the ways race and other factors play a role in wrongful convictions. BY DEBORAH McKEON | TELEGRAM STAFF. 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 Living the Christian life is a journey. "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. Number two, a white man is gonna say you shot him, whether you shot him or not, believe, me I dont care, says Ray. Some 300,000 Alabamians had completed sentences but still didnt have the ballot, according to the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit group working to create more fairness in the criminal justice system. What was the turning point in prison for Hinton? Mr. Hinton walked out of the Jefferson County Jail a free man. No one. But rather than pass reforms to prevent another innocent person from being wrongfully convicted and condemned to death, Mr. Hinton cautioned, Alabama is moving in the opposite direction. To me this was a day of freedom dedicated to them, and all of the people who have been lynched, oppressed, or intimidated or disenfranchised from voting., From a symbolic perspective, it is deeply meaningful that Mr. Hinton voted today in Alabama, said Blair Bowie, legal counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, which focuses on voting rights restoration. The arresting officer told him chilling words he would never forget when authorities arrested him. 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. 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. 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. Anthony Ray Hinton attends "True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality" New York Screening at SVA Theater on June 24, 2019. But for all yall thats snapping the cameras, I want you to know there is a God.. There were no eyewitnesses or fingerprint evidence; police had no suspects and pressure to solve the murders grew as similar crimes continued. [4], Additionally, Hintons boss testified that Hinton was working at the time of the incident, and that he was cleaning the supermarket; despite this, the jury still convicted him. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. His claims of innocence would fall on deaf ears, including those of his court-appointed lawyer. Anthony Ray Hinton leaves the Jefferson County jail in Birmingham, Alabama in April 2015, after nearly 30 years on death row. In 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned his conviction on appeal, after which the state dropped all charges against him. Today, as EJI Community Educator, hes a tireless and powerful advocate for abolition of the death penalty. Id., at 687-688, 694. And to show him what real love felt like and real love had no color. In Alabama, he writes, judges are elected based on how many people they send to death row, not on how many people they let off., Hintons lawyer provides this ghastly statistic: With 34 executions and seven exonerations in Alabama since 1975, one innocent person has been identified on Alabamas death row for every five executions.. CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ through mass media. I asked God to remove this hatred, says Ray. And you know why? I said, No. He said, You got a white man. Ray still remembers one of their last conversations before Henrys execution in 1997. Understanding The Holy Of Holies Inside The Temple. Anthony Ray Hinton Equal Justice Initiative. The gun belonged to his mother, but forensics experts hired by the state of Alabama claimed that it was the murder weapon. Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast food restaurant managers and sentenced to death at the age of 29. He has received no compensation. 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. Number four, youre gonna have a white judge. Cases like Anthony Ray Hintons give the public pause about the death penalty, said Robert Dunham, the centers executive director. Write the Vision, Make It Plain, Run With It. $200 per post at $10/CPM. 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. 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 managerswho worked at different places, and who were killed months apart that year, NBC News reports. If you think there is no reason for another book about a grave miscarriage of American justice, think again. The only evidence linking Hinton to the. I finally looked at you as a human being.. But something deep inside his character made it possible for him to make friends of everyone near him, from the white man next to him on death row who had lynched a black teenager to almost every single prison guard who met him. Now a Community Educator with EJI, Ray is doing what he can to bring reform to the justice system. 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. However, the number of members also gradually became smaller when book club members were executed. Have students write a personal response summarizing the video How do you feel after seeing Hintons struggle with the criminal justice system? 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. He-he-he's going to be executed, says Lester. It was there on a panel discussion, Reforming Criminal Justice in America . Anthony Ray Hinton, 58, was convicted of murdering two restaurant managers in Birmingham in 1985, but was granted a new . $140 per post at $7/CPM. He told a gathering of family and supporters that "the sun does shine." Hinton, 59, wiped . Four, youre gonna have a white judge. 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. He said to Hinton, "All of y'all blacks always say you didnt do something. [12] On April 1, 2015 the Jefferson County district attorneys office moved to drop the case. That paid to keep him on death row for 30 years for a crime he didnt commit. We gonna have a white judge. And Anthony made a decision to accept the reality and still allow God to use him while in prison. Convicted, he was sentenced to death and held in solitary confinement on Alabamas death row for 28 years, before being exonerated. Being locked up for 30 years made me realize how important the vote was, He added. All Rights Reserved, U.S. History, U.S. Government & Civics, Criminal Justice, Legal Studies. 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. Hinton was 29 when was convicted and sentenced to die in the state's electric chair. Mr. Hinton hugs EJI lawyer Charlotte Morrison. (Teacher Tip the three charts in the article can be shared and analyzed without having to read the entire article.). The lecture began with Hinton recounting the day of his arrest in extreme detail. By unanimous vote, the court ruled to grant Ray a new trial. Can God change your life? But it doesnt matter. and "Y'all blacks always sticking up for each other."[who?] Deputies escort Mr. Hinton in the courthouse during his trial. [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. 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. 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. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Rays mother, whod visited him almost every week since his incarceration, died in 2002. Tim Smyth teaches 10th and 11th grade social studies at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Hinton declined to sign 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. How was the case finally overturned? Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! One of those people was Henry Hays, a KKK member on death row for lynching a Black teenager. (334) 269-1803 Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Founded by a lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, it had a track record of overturning unjust convictions and in winning a. After 30 years in custody for crimes he did not commit, Mr. Hintons release is bittersweet. 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. [8] In June 1989, that judgment was affirmed by the unanimous Supreme Court of Alabama. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. Somehow, he's not enraged", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Ray_Hinton&oldid=1136681327, Overturned convictions in the United States, 21st-century American non-fiction writers, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking reliable references from June 2022, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from June 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 16:12. Indifferent to these concerns, the Alabama legislature passed the new law this spring,making it more difficult to obtain adequate counsel and imposing more unfair filing requirements. I say it because they took 30 years from me.. On Tuesday, he cast a vote for president.