My Rating: 5 stars
As I write this review, I am wiping tears from my face --
tears that flowed more than once as I was reading this amazing book.
It is hard to describe the gamut of emotions I felt as I followed
Anthony Ray Hinton’s incredible story of having to spend 30 years on death row
for a crime he didn’t commit. Disgusted, appalled, angry, outraged – none
of these words seem to be sufficient in relaying my feelings towards the
blatant miscarriage of justice that was described in this book as well as
towards a broken criminal justice system that goes out of its way to protect
corrupt, prejudiced officials who have no qualms about convicting and putting
innocent people to death not based on hard evidence, but rather based on the
color of their skin. Facing a system that treats “the rich and
guilty better than the poor and innocent,” Hinton fought for decades to prove
his innocence, encountering one setback after another, until finally, with the
help of his attorney Bryan Stevenson, they were able to get the U.S. Supreme
Court to overturn the original conviction and grant him a new trial, after
which the local district attorney in Alabama decided to drop the charges.
Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Hinton was sustained by his faith in God,
which helped him maintain hope, but most importantly, he was blessed with the
unconditional love of his mother -- a remarkable woman who was the
center of his universe and also his most steadfast cheerleader – as well as the
unwavering support of his best friend Lester Bailey, who, for 30 years, never
missed a single visit, driving 7 hours every Friday down to the prison to sit
with Hinton and make sure he had everything he needed and also helping to take
care of his beloved mother. Channeling the love he received from his family
and friends, his own unique sense of humor, and also everything his mother
taught him about life, Hinton was able to develop true friendships with his
fellow inmates and even with some of the guards at the prison.
Hinton’s ability to forgive those who wronged him and,
despite the circumstances, try to better the lives of his fellow inmates
through humor and genuine compassion were nothing short of extraordinary.
Most people in his situation would not have found the will to survive, but
Hinton was different – his strong resolve and unbreakable spirit were essential
in helping him survive the misery of his situation. Also, it must be said
that I have nothing but the utmost admiration and respect for Hinton’s attorney
Bryan Stevenson – an extraordinary man who has dedicated his entire life to
fighting for justice and equality for those who are poor, underprivileged,
marginalized. In Hinton’s case, Stevenson fought the courts tirelessly
for 16 years, never giving up even when one court after another refused to
admit the evidence that would exonerate Hinton, never backing down even in the
face of blatant bias from the judges and prosecutors. Even now, as Stevenson continues to battle
with the State of Alabama to get compensation for Hinton, it continues to be a
struggle, this time with semantics, as the same inherently prejudiced
bureaucratic system maintains that Hinton should not get compensated because
the charges being “dropped” is not the same as an official declaration of
innocence.
This is one of the most powerful memoirs I’ve read in a long
time. Hinton’s story is unforgettable, inspirational, and is one that I
know will stay with me for a long time to come. Since his release, Hinton
has become a motivational speaker and works with Bryan Stevenson’s Equal
Justice Initiative traveling around the world, going wherever he is invited to
share his story, bringing awareness and also pushing for changes in this
country’s justice system in the hopes that this doesn’t happen again to
anyone. One of the saddest moments in the book was when Hinton’s mother
passed away from cancer in 2002 – this was a woman who had been his rock
throughout his ordeal, the love of his life, someone who meant more to him than
life itself, the one person who, from the moment her son was arrested, never wavered
in her belief that her most beloved baby boy would return home. A bittersweet reunion in the end, as Hinton
walked out of the jailhouse finally a free man, grateful that Lester and his
family were there to greet him, but also knowing that the mother he adored did
not live to see that moment. Despite
what Hinton went through and knowing the deeply ingrained societal struggles
with racial bias in that state, Hinton still chooses to live in Alabama, in the
same house that his mother worked hard her entire life in order to buy so that
he would have a home to go back to.
Hinton’s special bond with his remarkable mother was one part of his
story that moved me deeply.
Remarkable, inspiring, eye-opening, and ultimately uplifting,
this is a memoir that EVERYONE needs to read, and urgently, given what is
happening in our country currently.
Bryan Stevenson puts it best in the Forward to this book where he
writes: “Reading [Hinton’s] story is
difficult but necessary. We need to
learn things about our criminal justice system, about the legacy of racial bias
in America and the way it can blind us to just and fair treatment of
people. We need to understand the
dangers posed by the politics of fear and anger that create systems like our
capital punishment system and the political dynamics that have made some courts
and officials act so irresponsibly. We
also need to learn about human dignity, about human worth and value. We need to think about the fact that we are
all more than the worst thing we have done.”
Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley
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