I recently read Lara Love Hardin’s book The Many Lives of Mama Love, in which she wrote about co-writing The Sun Does Shine with Anthony Ray Hinton, who was falsely convicted of murder and spent 27 years on Death Row before he was exonerated.

When Hinton was 29 years old, he was arrested for murdering two people. Even though he had a rock-solid alibi, he was found guilty and sentenced to Death Row. This was due to an incompetent court-appointed attorney and corrupt law enforcement officers and Attorneys General, who cared more about a conviction than making sure they had the right person. Through it all, Hinton maintained a positive attitude and even helped keep his fellow inmates’ spirits up. Eventually, he was put in touch with Bryan Stevenson, the attorney who founded the Equal Justice Initiative and wrote the book Just Mercy. It was Stevenson who eventually won Hinton’s release.

I learned a lot about the legal system reading this book and what I came away with is most of it is complete BS. The simplest things take years to get done and half of it doesn’t even make sense. The disregard for human life – Black life to be specific – was horrifying. Sentencing a human being you know is innocent to death just to get the case closed? Disgusting. And if you don’t have money, you can forget about getting a fair trial. I know there are some good public defenders out there but I think most of them are just phoning it in to get the case over with. I know Hinton’s sure was. I think I could have done a more thorough job. Now that I’ve read this book, I want to read Just Mercy, which I actually have on my bookshelves. I wonder if Stevenson writes about Hinton’s case – it would be interesting to hear his perspective.

Hinton is an amazing man who deserves the very best in life. Highly recommended. ( )

A book EVERY human being should read.
I was deeply inspired and touched by Ray's ability to keep fighting despite everything being against him.
I couldn't hold my tears when he lost his mother, can't begin to imagine what it felt like. A mother's love is truly something unique and irreplaceable ( )

I read Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy a year ago. Impressive and disturbing. This account of Ray Hinton’s incarceration for more than half his life was even more thought provoking and disturbing. Made me cry, made me angry. Thanks to Ray for writing and to Mr Stevenson who obtained Ray’s release. ( )

Mr. Hinton is a better man than I, and I can honestly say that I feel all the anger he no longer feels at the blatant racism that defines his entire case. ( )

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It might sound cheesy to say it, but ‘The Sun Does Shine’ really does feel like a life changing book. Written but Anthony Ray Hinton, a black American from Alabama who was falsely convicted of murder and spent over a quarter of a century on death row, it’s an incredibly moving, wise and insightful work.
Ray, as he is known, was arrested for the robbery of a restaurant and the attempted murder of its manager. This crime took place when he was working as a cleaner in a locked warehouse miles from the restaurant. Prosecutors then also tied him to two similar robbery homicides and he was convicted on flimsy forensic evidence. Ray protested his innocence throughout, and was fortunate enough to eventually meet a crusading lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who took up his case.
It’s clear from the start that race played a huge part in Ray’s conviction, as did economics. It seems unlikely that a wealthier white man, with access to a decent legal defence, would ever have been sent to prison. The amazing thing is the forgiveness that Ray shows to those responsible for robbing him of so many years of his life. His compassion really is inspirational.
This is a wonderful and very moving book. Heartbreakingly honest in its reporting of the conditions death row inmates face and the psychological toll the constant threat of state sanctioned murder takes on innocent and guilty convicts alike. Ray is under no illusion that many of the men he was incarcerated with were responsible for monstrous crimes, but writes passionately about the fact that their crimes don’t mean they aren’t human beings.
Some of the legal detail of his appeal can be difficult to follow at times, but the underlying message is clear. This is a book about the importance of compassionate justice and the need to address the appalling racial and economic inequalities that persist in the US. Ray’s hope and love for his fellow man shine through like a beacon. It’s also, at times, beautifully written, with clear, thoughtful prose that is packed with emotion.
Crime fiction so often focuses on the pursuit of the guilty and tends to ignore the impact of miscarriages of justice on the innocent. Reading an alternative view such as this was fascinating. I can’t recommend it highly enough.


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