Having spent 30 years on Alabama's death row as an innocent man, the now-freed 64-year-old knows about confinement. On July 25, 1985, a restaurant in Bessemer was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. "Number one, you're black. A Christian man was falsely convicted of murder for 30 years, but he spent his time sharing Jesus inside the cells. And I say that not with malice in my heart. He was wrongfully convicted of two murders and served nearly three decades in jail before being released in 2015. 07.31.17. He added that from the outset, this case exhibited many of the classic signs of innocence.. So Ive got to forgive. Despite Rays ironclad alibi for at least one of the robberies, and the lack of solid evidence, prosecutors pushed for a conviction. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. 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. Firearms experts convened by an Equal Justice Initiative attorney testified in 2002 that the revolver was not the weapon used in the murders of the two fast-food managers. I dont think the society nor the men that did this to me realized what they took from me, says Ray. But last year, the Supreme Court said that Mr. Hintons defense had been unacceptable, setting up a new trial and essentially forcing prosecutors to review the evidence for a case in which they acknowledged the forensic studies were paramount. The States evidence of a match was wholly discredited by three highly qualified firearms examiners, including the former chief of the FBIs firearm and toolmarks unit, who testified in 2002 that the bullets from all three crimes could not be matched to a single gun at all, much less to Mrs. Hintons gun, and found that her gun could not have fired the bullets from the third uncharged robbery. Get daily or weekly highlights from The 700 Club delivered to your inbox. Theres five things theyre going to convict you to, the officer told him. Ive got to forgive, he said. I was released from death row. All of yall always doing something and the moment you get caught, you say you didnt do it. What do you do with that? asks Ray. Start your day together with God and the GOD TV team. Instead, They Want to Speed Up Executions. Wrongly convicted, he was on death row for decades. Number one, youre Black. After 12 more years of litigation, theU.S. Supreme Court reversedthe lower courts, and a new trial was granted. I have no respect for the prosecutors, the judges. Bryan Stevenson told media this is a textbook example of injustice.. A jury found him guilty, a judge sentenced him to death. Jesus didnt say, Hey, when an enemy come across you, I want you to hate him, says Ray. This article was published more than2 years ago. It was 1986. In 2020, all of the candidates he voted for were Democrats. Anthony Hinton, 29 years old with no history of violent crime, steadfastly maintained his innocence. That paid for the experts who got it wrong. Anthony Ray Hinton attends "True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality" New York Screening at SVA Theater on June 24, 2019. I asked God to remove this hatred, says Ray. 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. In "True Justice" one of Mr. Stevenson's clients Anthony Ray Hinton discusses his arrest. 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. Then he found hope in sharing Christ during his nearly 30 years on death row. 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, Twelve years after the new ballistics tests were ignored by an appeals court in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court finally overturned Hintons conviction and granted him a new trial, at which point a new judge promptly dismissed the charges, according to a release from the, Hinton was exonerated in 2015, when he was 59 years old, according to, Thirty years ago, the prosecution seemed deemed to take my life from me, he continued, according to an NPR, Hintonstarted a book club while he was incarcerated, and went on to write a memoir about his experience, called, , Hinton has also found success as a motivational speaker and fierce advocate for prison reform, having been invited to dozens of universities and conferences to share his story since his release, according to the, "Just Mercy" opens in limited release on Christmas Day, and hits theaters everywhere on Jan. 10. Mar 30, 2016 Updated Mar 31, 2016. Anthony Ray Hinton spent decades in jail for crimes he did not commit. Anthony was a man who loved God and followed the example of Jesus Christ. Although he spent nearly three decades on death row and solitary confinement for a crime that he didnt commit, Hinton said he still feels a kinship with returning citizens whose ballots represent another step in the direction of freedom and contributing to society as a free citizen of the United States. The bill never even made it out of committee. Adam Desiderio/ABC. Anthony Hinton. EJI attorneys engaged three of the nations top firearms examiners who testified in 2002 that the revolver could not be matched to crime evidence. #ElectionDay #Vote2020 pic.twitter.com/J2eFOWnheD. [12] On April 1, 2015 the Jefferson County district attorneys office moved to drop the case. What evidence was given? Id., at 687-688, 694. Deputies escort Mr. Hinton in the courthouse during his trial. 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. Arrested for a series of capital murders in his home town with no corroborating evidence, and with no history of violent crime, Mr. Hinton was convicted on the basis of testimony that a gun owned by his mother - which had not been fired in 25 years - was the gun used in all three murders. 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. This lesson uses a video segment from PBS NewsHours Searching for Justice series. 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. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] An all-white jury would find Ray guilty of two counts of capital murder and sentence him to death by electric chair. 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. Ray had a message, and he taught that message to his neighbor Henry, though they only had one thing in common. In 2014 the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously overturned his conviction on appeal, after which the state dropped all charges against him. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! 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 . A total of 54 men walked past Hinton's cell on their way to execution. 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. Number four, youre gonna have a white judge. Perhacs hired a civil engineer who had impaired vision and didnt have any forensic experience. 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. The first three years, I was in a stage of hating, says Ray. I say it because they took 30 years from me.. CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ through mass media. The court was unable to affirm the forensic evidence of a gun, which was the only evidence in the first trial. Two days later, after serving 30 years in prison for a crime he didnt commit, Ray was released. Anthony Ray Hinton speaks to students on November 13, 2018, in the . [3], In February 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the state court conviction in a unanimous per curiam decision. Birmingham, Alabama, 1985. 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 Anthony Ray Hinton spent three decades on Alabama's death row for crimes he did not commit. Hinton wasnt eligible to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Hinton was 29 when was convicted and sentenced to die in the state's electric chair. Anthony Ray Hinton is an American activist, writer, and author who was wrongly convicted of the 1985 murders of two fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham, Alabama. Read this article and answer the following questions. Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted and sentenced to the most extreme penalty for a crime he did not do because of the color of his skin. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, has proposed legislation to grant Anthony Ray Hinton $1.5 million over three years. 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. Hintons public defender was roundly criticized for his work hetried to appeal his case and routinely failed, according to The Guardian. Hinton was convicted of murdering two fast food restaurant managers and sentenced to death at the age of 29. An all-white jury sentenced him guilty of two counts of capital murder and to death by electric chair.. Discover the book that broke his thirty-year habit on todays 700 Club. No one knows the hardship created by our inefficient system more than I do, Mr. Hinton wrote. You want to know why?, Number one, youre black. 5. Then Anthony spent the first three years in the prison full of bitterness in his heart. (S. Pelley, Life After Death Row, 60 Minutes, January 10, 2016.) (334) 269-1803 Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. Ive always felt that I have the Supreme Lawyer, says Ray. In his book, The Awe of God, pastor and author, John Bevere describes the many ways having a genuine and holy fear of God enhances the good in one A man who makes a vow to the LORD or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. New York Times bestselling book by Anthony Ray Hinton. 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. $140 per post at $7/CPM. Mar 27, 2019 . Copyright 2022 GOD TV, Simco Media LLC. We are here to help and encourage you! Among their efforts for criminal justice reform, the non-profit provides legal aid to those whove been imprisoned unjustly. What do you think can be done to change these racial disparities and to keep cases like that of Mr. Hinton from happening. His book is a harrowing masterpiece. Students will look at the ways race and other factors play a role in wrongful convictions. Anthony Ray Hinton leaves the Jefferson County jail in Birmingham, Alabama in April 2015, after nearly 30 years on death row. But while Im here, everything around me gonna live. And Henry said, Well, you know, Ray, Ive been reading the Bible. They just didn't take me from my family and friends. Number two, a white is gonna say you shot him whether you shot him or not.. three, youre going to have a white prosecutor. A retired police officer in Essex County working as a private investigator and bounty hunter has sued officials in East Orange, claiming he spent four nights in jail after they arrested him on a . The police turned up one day while Hinton, then 29, was mowing his mother's lawn; they. On Friday, Mr. Hinton was presented with some of the modern conveniences that emerged during his decades in prison, including an iPhone. His lawyer writes: Never have more guards, correctional staff and prison workers pulled me aside to offer assistance during the many years I have worked with Ray. A year ago, almost to the day, I traveled to Montgomery, Alabama for the Equal Justice Initiative's unveiling of the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.. YouTube | 700 Club Interactive "There's five things they're going to convict you to," the officer told him. 2. Police seized an old revolver belonging to Mr. Hintons mother, and state firearm examiners said that was the gun used in all three crimes. "[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. Hinton declined to sign it. Nominee for Best Memoir & Autobiography (2018) A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. That paid to keep him on death row for 30 years for a crime he didnt commit. Anthony Ray Hinton was released from prison in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday. 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.. 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. 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! He said to Hinton, "All of y'all blacks always say you didnt do something. Feb 24, 2017 Updated Feb 24, 2017. And youre going to take the rap. It hurts so bad, says Ray. Mr. Hinton thanked his supporters and legal team. You dont know freedom until its taken from you, Hinton told The Washington Post on Tuesday night. 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. 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. There is no question A In this lesson, students meet. "Thirty years ago, the . 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. By Jennifer Edwards Staff Writer. 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. 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. The books are still passed around from cell to cell, but the meetings in the prison library are over. In 2018, Alabama residents who were previously convicted of felonies were able to register to vote under the Moral Turpitude Act of 2017. Mr. Stevenson said it was unclear whether Mr. Hinton would ever receive any compensation from the state. He has one message for everyone who will listen: Our system is broken, and its time to put a stop to the death penalty. Have students write a personal response summarizing the video How do you feel after seeing Hintons struggle with the criminal justice system? The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice, Rekindling the Power of God Within to Effect Change. But for all yall thats snapping the cameras, I want you to know there is a God.. Winner of the 2019 Moore Prize Finalist, Dayton Peace Prize, 2019 "An amazing and heartwarming story, it restores our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, and justice. 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. This was contested by another expert,a civil engineer with visual impairments hired by Hintons public defender. What did I do? Do You Know These 14 Hebrew Names of God? 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. The 29-year-old found himself helpless and questioned God what he did so wrong for it to happen to him. Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. Download the free myCBN app. 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. 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. FLORENCE -- Anthony Ray Hinton was mowing the grass outside the house he . Officers had retrieved . 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 becamethe 152nd person exonerated from death row since 1983 when he wasreleased on April 3, 2015.