Anthony Ray Hinton

On April 3, 2015 Anthony Ray Hinton was released from death row after spending 30 years in a prison cell. When he was there for seven years, he wrote this article and what he had to tell then, still holds true ...

My name is A. R. Hinton. I’m on Alabama’s Death Row. I have been here for seven years. My mother also has been incarcerated with me during these past seven years. I tried to tell myself over and over that I was here on my own, but when my mother comes to visit I can see in her face how my being incarcerated has affected her: the loss of her hair and loss of weight. When a person is sent to Death Row, he or she and the family also in their own state, are put on Death Row. There is one large circle of suffering. The victim’s family suffers, our families are made victims by the state and they suffer. They too are innocent victims and they haven’t done anything to anyone. Where does the suffering stop? Our families are treated like they have AIDS or worse. Most of all, it makes our mothers and fathers feel as if they have done something wrong when they haven’t. My mother brought up ten children, whom she taught to love everybody. Just as the victim says they will never be able to share another Christmas with their loved one, neither will our families spend Christmas with us! My mother has never believed in killing. I can remember as a boy, I said out loud that I wished Governor Wallace was dead. My mother gave me one of the worst whippings I ever had. After my beating, she told me not to ever wish death on anyone. And as of today, she still holds those same beliefs. My mother taught me how a true Christian should be and how to love those who hate me and to pray for those who despitefully use us. I wish society would look at our families, because they are victims also.

Your brother, 

Ray Hinton

30 Years on Death Row: A Conversation with Anthony Ray Hinton