William Glenn Rogers
Martin Rojas
Richard Norman Rojem, Jr.
Edwin R. Romero
Christopher Roney
Clinton Rose
Christopher Roseboro
Kenneth Rouse
Darlie Lynn Routier
John Allen Rubio
Rolando Ruiz
Wesley Ruiz
Travis Runnels
Eric Walter Running
Larry Rush
Pete Russell, Jr.
Michael Patrick Ryan
James C. Ryder
Victor Saldano
Tarus Sales
Thavirak Sam
Michael Sample
Gary Lee Sampson
Abraham Sanchez
Alfonso Sanchez
Anthony Castillo Sanchez
Ricardo Sanchez
Carlos Sanders
Thomas Sanders
William K. Sapp
Daniel Saranchak
David Allen Sattazahn
Kaboni Savage
Byron Scherf
Conner Schierman
Michael Dean Scott, Jr.
Kevin Scudder
Ricky D. Sechrest
Juan Meza Segundo
Manuel M. Sepulveda
Ricardo Serrano
Bobby T. Sheppard
Erica Sheppard
Donald William Sherman
Michael Wayne Sherrill
Brentt Sherwood
Anthony Allen Shore
Duane A. Short
Tony Sidden
Brad Keith Sigmon
Kenneth Simmons
David Simonsen
Kendrick Simpson
Rasheen L. Simpson
Mitchell Sims
Vincent Sims
Fred Singleton
Michael Singley
George Skatzes
Henry Skinner
Paul Slater
John Amos Small
Christopher Smith
Demetrius Smith
Jamie Smith
Joseph W. Smith
Kenny Smith
Michael Dewayne Smith
Oscar F. Smith
Reche Smith
Roderick Smith
Wayne Smith
Wesley Tobe Smith, Jr.
Ricky Smyrnes
Mark Isaac Snarr
David Sneed
John Oliver Snow
Mark Soliz
Michael H. Sonner
Walter Sorto
Pedro S. Sosa
Anthony Sowell
Jeffrey Sparks
Robert Sparks
Dawud Spaulding
William Speer
Melvin Speight
Warren Spivey
Mark Newton Spotz
Mark L. Squires
Steven Staley
Stephen Stanko
Norman Starnes
Andre Staton
Roland Steele
Patrick Joseph Steen
Davy Stephens
Jonathan Stephenson
John Stojetz
Ralph Stokes
Sammie Louis Stokes
Patrick Jason Stollar
Bobby Wayne Stone
Paul David Storey
Bigler Jobe Stouffer II
Darrell Strickland
John Stumpf
Tony Summers
Brian Suniga
Dennis Wade Suttles
Gary Sutton
Nicholas Sutton
Larry Swearingen
Richard Tabler
David Taylor
Eddie Taylor
Paul Taylor
Rejon Taylor
Rodney Taylor
Ronald Taylor
Von Taylor
Donald Tedford
Ivan Teleguz
James Tench
Bernardo Tercero
Gary Terry
Karl Anthony Terry
Michelle Sue Tharp
Thomas Thibodeaux
Andre Thomas
Andrew Thomas
Donte Thomas
James Edward Thomas
James William Thomas
Joseph Thomas
Kenneth D. Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Steven Thomas
Walic Christopher Thomas
Ashford Thompson
Charles Thompson
Gregory Thompson
John Henry Thompson
Matthew Dwight Thompson
John Thuesen
Raymond Tibbetts
Jeffrey Dale Tiner
Richard Tipton
Chuong Duong Tong
Andres Antonio Torres
Jorge Avila Torrez
Jakeem Lydell Towles
Heck Van Tran
Michael Travaglia
Stephen Treiber
Carlos Trevino
James Earl Trimble
Daniel Troya
Gary Allen Trull
Isaiah Glenndell Tryon
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Russell Tucker
Albert Turner
Michael Ray Turner
Bruce Turnidge
Joshua Turnidge
Raymond A. Twyford III
Stacey Tyler
Jose Uderra
Alejandro Umana
Kevin Ray Underwood
David Unyon
Fidencio Valdez
James W. Vandivner
Robert Van Hook
Siaosi Vanisi
Richard Vasquez
Christopher Vialva
Jorge Villanueva
Warren Waddy
James Walker
Henry Louis Wallace
Shonda Walter
Christina S. Walters
Billy Joe Wardlow
Faryion Wardrip
Byron Lamar Waring
Leslie Warren
Anthony Washington
Michael Washington
Willie T. Washington
Gerald Watkins
Herbert Watson
John Watson III
James Hollis Watts
Obie Weathers
Michael Webb
Timmy John Weber
Bruce Webster
John Edward Weik
James Were
Herbert Dwayne Wesley
Hersie Wesson
Steven West
Robert Wharton
Daryl K. Wheatfall
Thomas Bart Whitaker
Garcia G. White
Melvin White
Timothy L. White
Keith Dedrick Wiley, Jr.
George Wilkerson
Christopher Wilkins
Phillip E. Wilkinson
Willie Wilks
Robert Gene Will II
Andre Williams
Antoine L. Williams
Arthur Lee Williams
Cary Williams
Charles Christopher Williams
Christopher Williams
Clifford Williams
Clifton Williams
David Kent Williams
Eric Williams
Eugene Johnny Williams
James T. Williams
Jeffrey Williams
Jeremy Williams
John Williams
Perry Eugene Williams
Robert Williams, Jr.
Roy L. Williams
Terrance Williams
Howard Hawk Willis
Edward T. Wilson
James Wilson
Ronell Wilson
Louis Michael Winkler
Andrew Witt
William L. Witter
Jeffrey Wogenstahl
Ernest R. Wolver, Jr.
David L. Wood
Jeffery Wood
John Richard Wood
Termane Wood
Aric Woodard
Robert Woodard
Anthony Woods
Darrell Woods
D
wayne Woods
Vincent Wooten
Charles Wright
William Wright
Raghunandan Yandamuri
Robert Lee Yates
Christopher Young
Clinton Young
Leonard Young
Edmund Zagorski
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all I would like to thank my best friend, Lester, and his wife, Sylvia. Thank you for standing beside me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thank you for never judging, and for never giving up on me. You showed up for me for thirty years while I was incarcerated, and you continue to show up for me now that I am free. Thank you both for sharing your time, your laughter, and your endless love. Thank you for brightening up the visiting yard. Thank you for all you have done, all you were willing to do, and all you continue to do. Thank you for working all night and then driving all day to make sure that I had someone to sit down to talk to. Thank you for putting the miles on your car. Most people talk about love, but the two of you show me what true love and friendship really is. I love you not because of what you’ve done for me, but because of who you are and what you mean to me. If you ever find yourself needing me, the way that I needed you, I will be in your corner just the way you were in mine. Lester, when I think of you, I think of John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
I would like to thank Bryan Stevenson for his many sleepless nights working on my case and for believing in me when no one else in the legal system did. Bryan, you are truly the moral voice and compass of the justice system. Thank you for the work you do on behalf of the poor, for being God’s greatest lawyer, and for always fighting no matter the odds against you. Thank you for not only being a great lawyer, but a great man. You are my lawyer, my brother, and my friend. If I had a billion dollars, it wouldn’t be enough to thank you for all you have done for me. The respect I have for you is immeasurable, and I am thankful to God for bringing you into my life. You have restored my faith in humanity, and taught me that there are good, decent human beings in the world. If I could be half the man you are, I would be all right. I wish more men and women would answer the call given to you to serve the poor and marginalized. Ladies and gentlemen, if you ever find yourself in my position, if you’re ever arrested for a crime you did not commit, my advice is first to say a prayer, and then to call Bryan Stevenson. He is your 911.
I would also like to thank the many others at the Equal Justice Initiative who spent long hours and sleepless nights working on my case. Thank you to Charlotte Morrison, Aaryn Urell, Drew Colfax, Cathleen Price, Andrew Childers, Sia Sanneh, Carla Crowder, Stephen Chu, and Ben Harmon. You also saved my life and I am forever grateful.
I would like to thank my literary agent, Doug Abrams, and his team at Idea Architects. Thank you, Doug, for believing in my story and guiding me through the publishing process with endless energy and enthusiasm. Thank you for your commitment to making the world a more just place, and for creating books that touch minds and hearts. No one can agent like you agent, and I am grateful to know you.
I would also like to thank my collaborative writer, Lara Love Hardin. Thank you, Lara, for your amazing gift with words, your understanding, your patience, and your willingness to slog through eight thousand pages of court transcripts and documents. You walked this journey with me every step of the way, and listened to the hard stories and difficult memories, always putting my emotional well-being first before any deadlines. Thank you for getting in my head and helping me condense thirty years on death row into a story that reveals the humanity in all of us.
Thank you to my editor at St. Martin’s Press, George Witte, for championing my story and making the book the very best version it could be. Thanks also to the amazing team at St. Martin’s: Sara Thwaite, Paul Hochman, Gabrielle Gantz, Martin Quinn, Laura Clark, Tracey Guest, Rafal Gibek, Sara Ensey, and Chris Ensey. A special thanks to Michael Cantwell for his input. Thank you also to Sally Richardson and Jennifer Enderlin for publishing this book.
Since my release I have spoken in front of countless people, and I want to thank all those who have heard my story and given me love and support and inspiration to keep telling my story, even when it’s difficult. I would especially like to thank Michael Mouran and his wife, Kathy—a new friendship that I hope will last a lifetime. I hope my story will inspire others to fight for justice, to be a better friend, to love unconditionally, and to recognize that we all have a part to play and work to do to fix a justice system that is not always just.
If you are reading my book and you are on death row or incarcerated for a crime you did not commit or incarcerated for a crime you did commit—my wish is that you will find hope within these pages. Hope to keep on fighting, to keep on living, to believe that you can change or your situation can change. Remember none of us are the worst thing we have done, and right now, wherever you are, whoever you are, you can reach out to your fellow man or woman and bring your own light to the dark places.
NOTES
4. THE COOLER KILLER
1. Mike Bennighof, “Worker Shot in Restaurant Holdup Dies,” Birmingham Post Herald, February 26, 1985.
2. Kathleen M. Johnson and Mike Bennighof, “Restaurant Manager Found Fatally Shot,” Birmingham Post Herald, July 3, 1985.
3. Peggy Sanford and Kaye Dickie, “Robbery-Shooting May Be Tied to Murders,” Birmingham News, July 27, 1985.
4. Nick Patterson, “Holdup Suspect Charged with Slayings,” Birmingham Post Herald, August 3, 1985.
7. CONVICTION, CONVICTION, CONVICTION
1. Nick Patterson, “Defense Testimony to Begin in Restaurant Slayings Trial,” Birmingham News, September 15, 1986.
2. Kathy Roe, “DA Hits Testimony Death Bullets Not from Gun at Hinton House,” Birmingham News, September 17, 1986.
20. DISSENT
1. Bryan Stevenson, “The Debate of Death: Against,” The Birmingham News, November 7, 2005.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANTHONY RAY HINTON spent nearly thirty years on death row for crimes he didn’t commit. Released in April 2015, Hinton now speaks widely on prison reform and the power of faith and forgiveness. He lives in Alabama. You can sign up for email updates here.
Sign up for email updates on Lara Love Hardin here.
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CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
DEDICATION
FOREWORD BY BRYAN STEVENSON
1. CAPITAL OFFENSE
2. ALL AMERICAN
3. A TWO-YEAR TEST DRIVE
4. THE COOLER KILLER
5. PREMEDITATED GUILT
6. THE WHOLE TRUTH
7. CONVICTION, CONVICTION, CONVICTION
8. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT
9. ON APPEAL
10. THE DEATH SQUAD
11. WAITING TO DIE
12. THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND
13. NO MONSTERS
14. LOVE IS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
15. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
16. SHAKEDOWN
17. GOD’S BEST LAWYER
18. TESTING THE BULLETS
19. EMPTY CHAIRS
20. DISSENT
21. THEY KILL YOU ON THURSDAYS
22. JUSTICE FOR ALL
23. THE SUN DOES SHINE
24. BANG ON THE BARS
AFTERWORD: PRAY FOR THEM BY NAME
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
THE SUN DOES SHINE. Copyright © 2018 by Anthony Ray Hinton. Foreword copyright © 2018 by Bryan Stevenson. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Pete Garceau
Cover image of circle © istock.com/saemilee
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-12471-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-12472-2 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250124722
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First Edition: March 2018