Musgrove and co-defendant David Rogers were convicted of capital murder on Feb. 11, 1988, a few years after Hinton. And now the moving book he wrote about his ordeal is set to be made into a film by Oprah Winfrey. "We believe there were constitutional errors in his trial and they were so great he deserves a new trial," said Cissy Jackson, an attorney for Musgrove. 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Weeks turned into months, then years. Four years after Hintons release on April 3, 2015, theres been a lot hes done for that guard to see. [5], In November 2014, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals closed Hinton's case. The Monitor is a peculiar little publication thats hard for the world to figure out. -- Anthony Ray Hinton spent more than half his life on death row in southern Alabama. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations. He stands in the sight of video cameras and collects receipts from convenience stores. Im a true believer that God will never allow you to go through anything that He cannot bring you out of, said Hinton, 62. Join Washington Post senior critic-at-large Robin . And I knew then that it was all about getting one more black man off the streets.. Skip to Article. McGregor prosecuted a number of high-profile cases in his 23-year career. Anthony Ray Hinton speaks to UWO students about the 30 years he wrongfully served on death row for a crime he didn't commit in 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama. He could smell burning flesh every time someone was electrocuted. There was death and ghosts everywhere. [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. On the night of his execution he finally admitted that all his life his father had lied to him, and that now he knows what love is, said Hinton. The first step on the path to salvation for Hinton came after a decade inside. New York Times bestselling book by Anthony Ray Hinton. Anthony Ray Hinton asked. He feels like a slave as they lead him into the backseat of a van and drive for three hours. For 16 years, the state of Alabama refused to retest the bullets because they didnt have to. The credibility of his ballistics expert - the only one the attorney thought he could hire with the funds available - was discredited by the prosecutor due to the expert's physical limitations and lack of experience. The prosecutor told the court that the State's experts found a match between Mrs. Hinton's gun and the bullets from all three crimes. Hinton, who spent nearly 30 years on death row, will go free Friday, after prosecutors told a court that . Eventually, with all avenues for justice within the Alabama system shut off, the path was open for Stevenson to take Hintons case to the US Supreme Court. [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. Were the bran muffin of journalism. Conservative pushback on the rise. The defense says in court documents that later scientific tests prove the 9 mm casing used as evidence against Musgrove was planted at the scene and wasn't tied to the crime at all. A ruling by a state judge cleared the way for the release on April 16 of William Ziegler, initially convicted in a 2001 killing in Mobile. The book depicts prosecutors as "white hats" and defense lawyers as "black hats" taking up for "bad men and blood spillers.". [12] On April 1, 2015 the Jefferson County district attorneys office moved to drop the case. Since Hintons release, he said the state of Alabama has not apologized. So, I thought about her more often than anyone.. Anthony Ray Hinton (born June 1, 1956) is an American activist, writer, and author who was wrongly convicted of the 1985 murders of two fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham, Alabama. Were run by a church, but were not only for church members and were not about converting people. I need him to believe in the death penalty, but more importantly, I need this expert to tell the truth when he examines the bullets.. During the meeting, Hinton told Woodfin that he forgives those who put him in prison. Morrison said Bob McGregor, Hintons prosecutor, is the only prosecutor in the country to have been found to approve racial discrimination in jury selection. He was convicted in connection to two homicides that happened in 1985. All rights reserved. Updated: Apr. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. [3], In February 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the state court conviction in a unanimous per curiam decision. There was not a moment during the presentation where I was wishing I was elsewhere., Gerard said Hintons story is relatable to her future field because she hopes to teach her students not to racially stereotype people and to recognize injustice and stand up to it.. or call us at 1-617-450-2300. Mr. Hinton walked out of the Jefferson County Jail a free man. "But no one doubted that they were capable of murder if the price was right.". And in May, he will be the keynote speaker at the St. Bonaventure University graduation in St. Bonaventure, N.Y., where he will receive an honorary doctorate. The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton reveals his three decades in prison; . Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine 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. Youll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com. The row was haunted by the men who died in the electric chair. The police took it for testing. Hinton was convicted of two 1985 murders, and sentenced to die. We tackle difficult conversations and divisive issueswe dont shy away from hard problems. She didnt have a say over being Queen. improve functionality and performance. The only thing they couldnt do was throw a rope and hang me like they once did, but they took my freedom through corrupted criminal procedure.. After 12 more years of litigation, theU.S. Supreme Court reversedthe lower courts, and a new trial was granted. Would she like to see the Oval Office? Free at last: Anthony Ray Hinton is greeted by family outside the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Alabama. And every day I woke up with a death sentence over my head and every night I laid down with a death sentence over my head. Despite an absence of any witnesses or fingerprints, on September 17, 1986, Anthony Ray was sentenced to death in Alabamas notorious, Yellow Mama, electric chair. I often wondered what shed do in order to survive that prison, he said. While the state attorney general's office hasn't yet responded to Musgrove's arguments in court and declined comment this week, it has defended the conviction for nearly 30 years and once got the Alabama Supreme Court to reverse a lower state appellate court that overturned the case. Among the authors whom the prisoners read and discussed were James Baldwin and Harper Lee. Morrison said this was proved by presenting the testimony of every lawyer McGregor faced and worked with. A total of 54 men walked past Hinton's cell on their way to execution. However, the number of members also gradually became smaller when book club members were executed. [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. The refusal of state prosecutors to re-examine this case despite persuasive and reliable evidence of innocence is disappointing and troubling.. He could smell burning flesh every time someone was electrocuted. After a few years, the club grew as the news spread quickly in the prison that reading was a good escape. Anthony Ray Hinton was going out of his mind on Alabamas death row as he repeatedly churned over the iniquities of the shambolic trial that put him there. The prosecutor acknowledged to the jury that the only significant evidence against Hinton was the ballistics test. I broke down and cried. To say they have the best justice system in the world when every day race plays a part in who goes to prison, who dont go to prison. And we can prove it.. While McGregor also is dead, he self-published a book in 2009 depicting both Hinton and Musgrove as cold-blooded killers. And before he goes to bed at night, Hinton takes the time to do something he never could do while on Death Row and thats to simply walk outside and look to the skies. I had nothing but I would prefer to be naked and free than on death row for a crime I didnt commit.. Thirty years ago, Mr. Hinton was arrested and charged with two capital murders based solely on the assertion that a revolver taken from his mothers home was the gun used in both murders and in a third uncharged crime. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. [2] During the appeals, EJI introduced evidence from three forensic experts, including one from the FBI, showing that the bullets from the crime scenes did not match Hinton's mother's gun. Im going to make sure youre found guilty, he recalls. [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. When Hinton leaves the house these days he leaves a trail so he can prove where hes been. There is a joke on death row that capital punishment is punishment of men without capital. Hinton declined to sign it. 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. Its about me, Hinton said. You listen to men crying and hollering at all times of the day and night. The Christian Science Monitor is an international news organization offering calm, thoughtful, award-winning coverage for independent thinkers. Bryan also tells Ray that Perhacs and, Ray is glad to see his mom, Lester, and Phoebe. Hinton was just one of scores of people . Police seized an old revolver belonging to Mr. Hintons mother, and state firearm examiners said that was the gun used in all three crimes. About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review under the charming heading of do things that dont interest you: Many things that end up being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. I want to give young men hope, the hope that has inspired me to do what I am doing.. 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. Founded by a lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, it had a track record of overturning unjust convictions and in winning a supreme court ruling prohibiting the death penalty, or life without parole for young people under the age of 18. Black men are imprisoned just for being black men. Its the symptom of a system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.. Police in north Alabama arrested Musgrove and Rogers both convicted car thieves who had fled a state work-release center following an auto chase weeks after Barron's slaying. April 25, 2015 But the jury still convicted the young black man and sentenced him to death. [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. Solitary confinement is really designed to break you to make you crazy, he said. That was all they needed," said Jackson, Musgrove's lawyer. [11] Hinton's original defense lawyer had wrongly thought he had only $1,000 available to hire a ballistics expert to rebut the states case on evidence. [4] After being released, Hinton wrote and published a memoir The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (2018). What prison did to me was made me realize that I wasnt really enjoying life the way that I am now, he said. Hinton's attorney say a poor defense is what landed him here. I had lost my father mother three of my sisters, he says. I need you to accept this because, if you dont, youre going to hang yourself. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. And Im hoping that if ever I was charged with anything again I could say, you can check my phone and hopefully it will clear me, he said. 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. Anthony Ray Hinton was exonerated from death row in April 2015. The court was unable to affirm the forensic evidence of a gun, which was the only evidence in the first trial. "The sheriff of Jefferson County, Alabama, is directed to deliver the defendant, the said Anthony Ray Hinton, into the custody of the director of the department of corrections and. I may not have had any money, but I had enough education to understand exactly how justice was working in this trial and exactly how it was going to turn out. 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. The book club began with a handful of death row prisoners meeting in the jails law library, and for a few years the numbers grew as word spread that reading was as good an escape as any of them could expect. She didnt ask to be born, to hold that position it was forced on her. Anthony Ray Hinton is the 152nd. "I truly believe God sent me to Death Row to meet Henry Francis Hays and to show him what real love felt like," says Anthony Ray Hinton on a 700 Club video. But for Hinton, his talks also serve as a warning to other African Americans that this can happen to them. called him, confessing he was the real killer, but no one hunted the man down. So he started a book club. A deeper view that unites instead of divides, connecting why the story matters to you. In his petition, the lawyer called Alabamas death penalty a perverse monument to inequality. . Henry Hays was cheated all his life. EJI attorneys engaged three of the nations top firearms examiners who testified in 2002 that the revolver could not be matched to crime evidence. The Jefferson County prosecutor at Musgrove's trial used bogus evidence to win the conviction against an overmatched defense lawyer, just as he did to Hinton a few years earlier, the defense contends. One month free trial to the Monitor Daily. Im thinking of the detectives the judges Im thinking about all of these people who were intentional and caused you grief or harm. But maybe shell turn her sights to journalism. The prosector, Bob McGregor, was twice found by courts to have illegally discriminated against African Americans by excluding them from juries. 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. On February 24, 2014, the Supreme Court today unanimously granted relief to Anthony Hinton, finding that his trial lawyer was constitutionally deficient. Bob McGregor (Author) 43 ratings Hardcover $24.99 3 Used from $21.12 10 New from $18.41 Paperback $14.49 2 Used from $14.76 10 New from $11.25 This book is the account of the author's eight and a half years of prosecuting for the State of Alabama. I called it hell. Since his release, he has travelled in the US and abroad, speaking about the injustice he endured, and how religious faith, his mother, and friendship helped him survive. About $2,100 was missing from the safe. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. The keynote with Anthony Ray Hinton and Charlotte Morrison was, without a doubt, the best All Bonaventure Reads keynote I have attended or helped plan in the past ten years, Brown said. Former federal and state prosecutor Bob McGregor dies. Hinton is back living in the house where his mother spent her last days convinced of her sons innocence. But what I never lost sight of was I was sentenced to death. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. unless you renew or I went to Italy, I played professional sports, I won Wimbledon five times. McGregor states several times that he can tell Ray is guilty just from looking at him and that he an evil, cold-blooded killer. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Anthony Hinton was arrested after the manager identified him from a photo lineup, even though he was working in a locked warehouse fifteen miles away at the time of the crime. Now he has written his own book, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, recounting his long battle for freedom against an Alabama judicial system that showed no interest in whether it was planning to take an innocent mans life. Mr. Hinton's innocence claim is unusually clear, compelling anduncontradicted. Anthony Ray even asked to launch a book club for fellow inmates and soon killers, rapists and Ku Klux Klan members were meeting in the prison library to discuss novels. In 2015,the Supreme Court unanimously overturnedHintons conviction on appeal. [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. And sometimes his stomach knots with dread as he remembers the stench of burning flesh when a fellow prisoner got fried in the electric chair. For 16 years, I leaned on death row for something that I didnt do. He wants his freedom, he wants justice, and he wants to kill, rage in the early months of his imprisonment, continuing to imagine how he would kill, a cell very close to Ray. Moments later, off she went, along with the son of a CNN cameraman, for a personal tour of the worlds most exclusive workspace.Her dad, Polish Radio reporter Marek Wakuski, had brought Nina with him Thursday for Take Your Child to Work Day at the White House. He had been wrongly identified by the survivor of another armed robbery but, as he had been at work miles away from where the shootings took place, believed the mistake would soon be sorted.However, before he even made it to the police station Anthony Ray realised he was in deep trouble. Anthony Ray Hinton endured almost three decades behind bars, wrongly convicted by Alabamas racist judiciary system. A unanimous Supreme Court victory is Professor Bryan Stevenson's latest milestone in his 15-year effort to vindicate a man on death row. Mr. Hinton hugs EJI lawyer Charlotte Morrison. Anthony Ray Hinton being lead away by police in 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton said he would imagine marrying Halle Berry to stay sane on Death Row. 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. I knew then it was about race. I dont have a choice but to forgive, because I want to be free, he says. A computer lies on a desk in the corner of the living room, but Hinton is wary of it, uncertain how to use all but the most basic of functions. And for 16 years, they fought for justice on behalf of Hinton. But you know what? Perhacs hired a civil engineer who had impaired vision and didnt have any forensic experience. If youre looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. April 3, 2015. Refine any search. On top of being wrongfully convicted, he was sentenced to the death penalty. And he makes sure to call people several times a day on his mobile phone. This presentation shattered the expectations I had for it, Gerard said. There were no eyewitnesses or fingerprint evidence; police had no suspects and pressure to solve the murders grew as similar crimes continued. He organized a book club that was allowed to meet in the prison's law library. With hope of freedom vanishing, he escaped the horror of confinement with daily flights of fancy. Their firearms experts showed the bullets could not have come from his mothers gun. "To successfully plead actual innocence, a petitioner must show that his conviction resulted from a constitutional violation," Musgrove's lawyers wrote in court documents submitted to U.S. District Judge David Proctor, who is considering the case. The store's exterminator arrived after midnight and found assistant manager John Davidson's truck still in the parking lot. And I just had to believe that God would not allow me to die for something I didnt do.. His poorly paid, inept defence attorney Sheldon Parhacs then hired a one-eyed ballistics expert and McGregor lacerated his testimony.

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