On Nov. 2, Elizabethtown College welcomed Anthony Ray Hinton as he shared his experiences after surviving on Alabama’s death row for 30 years. As part of the College’s Lecture Series, Hinton spoke to the Elizabethtown community at Leffler Chapel. While speaking to attendees, Hinton detailed why his story was important, as well as how it can help reform the current legal system.
The first lecture in the Lecture Series began with words from Etown president Betty Rider, where she welcomed those in attendance and shared just how excited she was to have Hinton as the first speaker for the series. Rider explained that Hinton would share his story and take the time to answer a few audience questions afterwards. Hinton then took the stage, where he recalled that fateful day where he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. As a teen, Hinton was accused of killing two people. Later, he was found guilty, where he served time while petitioning to have the case reopened and the gun reexamined. Hinton had worked tirelessly in his attempt to find a way to have the case looked at again, but he always came up short until attorney Bryan Stevenson offered to help Hinton.
Eventually, Stevenson and Hinton had worked together to come up with the best possible plan in order to help get Hinton exonerated. However, the two didn’t work together until a while later. The first time that Hinton had heard of Stevenson was when he had sent an attorney to work with Hinton. Together, the attorney and Hinton tried to figure out the best way to proceed with Hinton’s case. While having one of these discussions, the attorney had suggested to Hinton that he may be able to get Hinton off death row and have him serve a sentence of life without parole. After hearing this, Hinton had informed his attorney that he fired him, as he wanted someone that truly believed he was innocent.
Soon after, Hinton sat down and wrote a letter, requesting that Stevenson would become his attorney, as clearly, he believed Hinton’s story. A few letters later, Hinton and Stevenson had met, where they discussed what the next steps would be in order to get Hinton’s case heard. The two had agreed that in order to get the case heard, they would need to have the evidence examined again. It was in this meeting that Hinton had made a request to Stevenson.
“Mr. Stevenson,” Hinton said, “I need you to hire a white man. And I need this white man to be from the South.” Puzzled at this request, Stevenson had asked why he needed to hire a white man from the south to re-analyze the pistol used in the crime. Answering, Hinton said, “Mr. Stevenson, I have lived in the South all my life. Alabama will only recognize one of their own. Mr. Stevenson, you can go out and get the best white female in the country. Her words are no good on the witness stand in Alabama. And Mr. Stevenson, it definitely cannot be a person of color, as their word is definitely no good on the witness stand.”
Stevenson had heard Hinton’s request and did his best to fulfill it. After many hours of research, Stevenson was able to find three analysts that fit this description, all of which had agreed that the gun owned by Hinton’s mom was not the same one used in the crime.
Hinton and Stevenson were able to accomplish their goal of getting Hinton exonerated. However, the case revealed that there were many issues with the legal system. To help bring light to this issue, Hinton travels around the country where he shares his story. The tragedy of Hinton has allowed him to use the most of his freedom.
“I did not forgive the men who did this to me so they could sleep good at night,” Hinton said. “I forgave them so I could sleep good at night.”
