The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

by Anthony Ray Hinton

But justice is a funny thing, and in Alabama, justice isn’t blind. She knows the color of your skin, your education level, and how much money you have in the bank. I may not have had any money, but I had enough education to understand exactly how justice was working in this trial and exactly how it was going to turn out. The good old boys had traded in their white robes for black robes, but it was still a lynching.

In that moment, I realized that the real killer could walk into this courtroom with pictures of himself committing the crime, and the judge wouldn’t accept the evidence.

The death penalty is an enemy of grace, redemption and all who value life and recognize that each person is more than their worst act.

Dissent was a beautiful thing. And it was all I had.

There had been so much darkness for so long. So many dark days and dark nights. But no more. I had lived in a place where the sun refused to shine. Not anymore. Not ever again.

The death penalty is broken, and you are either part of the death squad or you are banging on the bars. Choose.