Anthony Ray Hinton spent nearly 30 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. On April 30, he shared his story to the St. Thomas community in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium, along with his message about the desperate need for reforms to the criminal justice system.
Hinton was arrested in 1985 for the murder of two restaurant managers. The only evidence was a gun found at his mother’s house, which hadn’t been used in at least 25 years, according to his memoir. Despite the lack of proof, his defense was hindered by an all-white jury and an uncommitted defense attorney. Ultimately, he was convicted of two capital crimes and sent to death row.
“Nowhere did I ever think that the system that I was believing in would come and arrest me for one of the most heinous crimes that you can imagine,” Hinton said.
Hinton’s story was originally told in “Just Mercy,” a memoir by Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer who proved his innocence. After Hinton’s release in 2015, he wrote his own book, “The Sun Does Shine,” detailing the experience.
“My only crime was being born black, or being born black in Alabama,” Hinton wrote in his memoir.
The event was hosted by the Four Pillars Project, a UST initiative that seeks to promote character education by emphasizing the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, according to its Tommie Link page.
The Four Pillars Project invited Hinton to share his experience as part of its focus on justice this year. He began by sharing the story of his arrest and death row experience, then joined Yohuru Williams, the founding director of St. Thomas’ Racial Justice Initiate, and the Rev. Daniel Griffith, the incoming vice president for mission, for a dialogue and Q&A session.
Aquinas Scholars director Hugh Smeltekop was one of around 100 attendees in the intimate space.
“One of my biggest takeaways was how persistent racism is, and how at every step of the process of getting exonerated there were more and more barriers put in front of Hinton,” Smeltekop said.
Hinton said that even 11 years after his release, he has yet to receive an acknowledgement of wrongdoing or apology from the state of Alabama.
“I began to realize that they have a system that they can come and get anybody, regardless, any time they want to. And I didn’t have the money nor the means to fight the state of Alabama off,” Hinton said.
First-year student Yohannes Balema also attended Hinton’s talk and read his memoir for his justice and peace studies class.
“It motivated me to continue to fight for justice regardless of what your plan of life is,” Balema said. “It doesn’t have to be pre-law; I think everyone in their fields can build a great foundation of eliminating racism as much as you can.”
Before the speech and conversation with Williams and Griffith, the Four Pillars Project hosted a small lunch where Hinton answered students’ questions.
“I want college students to realize that we have a system that is not the true justice system. I don’t believe it’s a true American system. I believe it’s man-made and it’s a system for certain men, or certain people,” Hinton said at the lunch.
Hinton said he continues to reside in Alabama despite the injustice he endured there. He works for the Equal Justice Initiative, founded by Stevenson, where he shares his story to audiences across the country.
“I came to St. Paul to say, ‘Hey, this is on you all now. It’s what you do with it,’” Hinton said. “And I just want young people to stand up and stop being afraid to get on board, to do what is right.”
Emily Kratz can be reached at krat1542@stthomas.edu.
