The Sun Does Shine

Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on Alabamas death row for two murders he did not commit. And it wasnt new forensic technology that ultimately exonerated him. It was the perseverance of a handful of men and women willing to turn a mirror on the system itself.

If there are books and there are novels, this is a story. Its a powerful story full of loss, love, pain, honesty, hope, and, ultimately, survival. There is, however, no redemption here. There was no reason to ever believe that Anthony Ray Hinton was guilty of these crimes. None. But thats not what the legal system is all about. And ultimately it is only the system that can be redeemed. The rest is just human tragedy.

I have been a peripheral witness to the legal system for a long time. And I have known many who are intimately involved in the service of justice who can say little more in defense of the system than, Its the best of the alternatives. That is seldom an acceptable standard for much of anything, but it should never be an acceptable standard when we are consciously and deliberately executing people.

The problems are not simple. Thugs walk free every day for the same reasons that people like Anthony Ray are wrongly sent to death row. Truth is seldom binary. Scientific discovery is a function of probabilities, not absolutes. Facts always exist in context and must be evaluated within that context. And that context is never as simple or as one-dimensional as it seemsor we would like it to be.

The system is over-worked, the jury of peers that may have existed in an 18th Century New England farm town is an illusion today, and our politics and our legal system have been corrupted by money at a time when the divide between rich and poor is rapidly expanding.

This is a story with elements of legal injustice, racism, and the plight of the poor. But none of these exist in isolation or is as personal, in the end, as we make them out to be. All of these things do exist at a personal level. The cause and effect, however, are structural. And thats where both the injustice starts and where it must be confronted.

The author claims that one in ten prisoners sitting on death row today is innocent. If you doubt that I encourage you to go to your local courthouse today and observe a trial in process. You will find a lot of hard-working people; some good and some bad. But you will not find a search for truth. You will find an urgent commitment to justice as defined by the institution itself.

In the end, this is Anthony Ray Hintons story. And it is beautifully and simply told by Anthony Ray and Lara Love Hardin. It is, however, a story about us. We are the context. Anthony Ray and the people around him simply shine a light inside the institution that we live within. But its up to us to open our eyes and see. The sun does shine. But you have to open your eyes to see it. And that, ultimately, is the message of this book.

This is more than a must read. If this book does not become a best seller, shame on us; things are worse than I feared. Its that important.

How could anyone spend 30 years on Death Row and be exonerated and still have the faith and the love that Anthony Ray Hinton did? I havent cried while reading a book in a long time, but I could not hold back my tears as I lived through Mr. Hintons frustration with the Justice system. How blessed he was with unconditional love from his mother, his fiends Lester and Sylvia, and his God-sent lawyer, Bryan Stevenson. His observations from the darkness should give any reader a new respect for all human beings. I am so glad that he did hang in there so he could share his heart-wrenching journey in this profound memoir. WOW! JUST WOW!!

Most Americans are not aware of the degree to which our justice system is compromised, racist, and increasingly bent to the will of for-profit corporations. The tragic true story of Ray Hinsons conviction for a crime he didnt commit and the subsequent 29 years he spent in a 5×7 cell on death row in Alabama before he proved his innocence and won his release, however, will force societys eyes wide open. And it will be easy to do so, because Hinson tells an easy to follow, compassionate, shocking tale of what happened to him and how. Whether you come to this book with a curiosity about the injustices Hinson suffered or about the grace that he found and the faith that he followed, youll come away impressed and transformed. This is a book of suffering, of violence, of broken hearts – and one of resilience, the power of love, and the meaning of faith as well.

That Hinson was able not only to survive 30 years feet from a death chamber, but also thrive and transform many of the men he met during his incarceration speaks to this mans great good soul and tenacity. He fights not only for his innocence, but also for the reality that he and his peers are people: men of intellect, emotion, vice, and virtue. He unpacks and reframes the narrative of hate that dominates so many of the lives that end up on The Row. He refuses to judge his fellow inmates, and even his guards. His story speaks to multiple narratives: the experiences of young black men in the post-integration era South, the crippling legacies of racial apartheid and hate, the ways in which even the most open and powerful justice system in the world has been corrupted and repurposed for agendas that have nothing to do with justice. There are subtler stories, too – the difference between the southern black experience in 1985 vs 2015, the ways in which education and loved experience has grown flimsier and more brittle in many ways over the last 40 years, the shifting demographics of death row.

Theres anger and injustice in this book, but hilarity and love and hope, too. Despite spending much of his life in a 5×7 cell, Hinson offers his readers both an unfamiliar story and a thoroughly human one. Everyone should read this book. This is America writ small in 2018: a place of shame, hate, grace, complexity – and legacies that have yet to be decided.

As I finish this book I can only marvel at the incredible humanity and ability to forgive of Anthony Ray. He is a beacon of light in a state and country blinded by injustice. How he was allowed stay in death row for so long as a known innocent man is incomprehensible in this day and age. The saddest thing I take from his book is that his isn’t an isolated story. I am now going to read Bryan Stevenson’s book as I feel I know so much about him already. These are our modern day heroes

One of the best books I have ever read! I literally felt every emotion while reading this book and I couldnt recommend it enough. Its a real eye opener and really heart warming. I have never been for the death penalty (I live in England and we dont have the death penalty) and I dont agree with it at all. Anthonys story not only high lights that sentencing anyone to death regardless of crime wrong and that punishment in other ways are equally appropriate, but is a perfect demonstration that the justice system is broken on the US and that even today that the system favour rich, white and guilty over poor, black and innocent. My heart breaks for the time Anthony lost and how disgustingly he was treated. It pains me to think, how many more people are there currently on death row or sentenced to life of multiple life sentences for crimes they did not commit. Thank you for sharing your story Anthony, I hope the rest of your life is filled with happiness and joy.

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