Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free.īut with no money and a different system of justice for a poor Black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. “An amazing and heartwarming story, it restores our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu) Hinton gradually come to terms with his experience and dedicates the remainder of his life to fighting the death penalty.A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Physically free at last, Hinton still has to deal with the emotional scars that have yet to heal. Finally, after 30 years, he is released from prison. While his legal troubles continue, and the case drags on, Hinton’s faith and hope are repeatedly tested he relies on his wit, charm, imagination, and appreciation of books to spiritually sustain him. Hinton eventually finds a sense of home and family, and even starts a book club.Īs he balances the weight of hope and imagination, picturing marriages and sports championships, and dealing with the loss of his mother-and the deaths, by execution, of his fellow inmates-he finally finds what he calls “God’s Best Lawyer” in Bryan Stevenson.
He befriends his fellow death row inmates, most of whom, he supposes, are guilty, and all of whom have been convicted for violent crimes-including a KKK member who lynched a young black man.
He loses faith and hope-both of which are eventually regained from reflection and Hinton's openness to experience. Legal defenses come and go, with underfunded lawyers always asking for money. In an odyssey of irony and imagination, Hinton spends three decades entangled in the legal system. The weapon found in his mother’s home doesn’t match the one used in the crimes. He is innocent: His alibis and successful passing of a polygraph test confirm this. He is found guilty but shrugs off the verdict: He is certain that he will quickly be exonerated. As a young black man in the South, he doubts the criminal justice system's true efficacy, but was told by his mother that if he just tells the truth, everything will always be okay. In Hinton’s widely read memoir, he recounts the circumstances leading to his arrest for capital murder.
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