Anthony Ray Hinton’s story is one of dramatic change, from doom to direction. His reflections are some of the most serious words ever spoken in Hamilton Chapel, and served as both a warning about the perversion of justice and a compelling call to action to current students to fight corruption in all forms.
Wrongfully convicted of a double homicide in 1985, Mr. Hinton’s case revolved solely around his race. Birmingham, a city with a slight black majority at the time of his incarceration, was a center for both the KKK during Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. Unfortunately, the legacy of racism endured beyond his case, as it continued to impact legal frameworks, individual decisions, and attitudes in the community into the late 1900s.
He was accused because he was black. Detectives profiled him, saying things along the lines of “One of you [Black people] did it, if not you…one of your ‘brothers’”. His jury of “peers” was entirely white. He was tried before a white judge. The police officers and detectives who accused and arrested him were all white. Mr. Hinton’s speech made clear that this doesn’t make white people inherently evil in any way. However, what his speech did make clear was that there is deep-seated racism in the South that works in ways most Northerners can’t understand. Even twenty years after the passing of the Civil Rights Act, race was the sole factor in Hinton’s arrest.
In Mr. Hinton’s speech, he was never once accusatory. He wasn’t mad about his own past, but rather a system he views as broken. And understandably so. The Alabama state government stole three decades of his life from him. Still, he reflected on his faith in prison and how he always felt connected to his Christian religious tradition while incarcerated. The first decade of Mr. Hinton’s imprisonment was without help; aid would be on the way in time. “This story was eye-opening,” reflected Andrew Cotter ’26.
Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative came to his assistance, working on his side for 16 years and using the reports of forensic experts who made clear that Hinton’s conviction was based on false information. His case was brought before the Supreme Court in 2014, where he was unanimously exonerated in a “constitutionally deficient” trial. The following year, he was released.
Currently, he is an advocate for ending the death penalty. Marcus Griffin ’26 was particularly amazed by Mr. Hinton’s words. He said, “It was moving, from the heart…his plea for a new generation to stand up for those who can’t was powerful.”
Since his release, Mr. Hinton has devoted his life to traveling and sharing his story. He released his book, The Sun Does Shine, in 2018. Mrs. O’Connor, one of about 20 faculty members who read the book over winter break, commented that “It is the ultimate story of resilience, friendship, hope, forgiveness, humanity, and empathy that everyone in the community can learn from, no matter their background.” Many other faculty members, including Dr. Tift, Mr. George, and Mr. LaLiberte ’14, recommend that Belmont Hill students read Mr. Hinton’s book.
After his presentation to the whole school, Mr. Hinton spoke to a significant group of boys who remained in the Chapel—one of the largest post-speaker groups that Belmont Hill has ever had. Student questions mainly revolved around his religious faith and prison life. The main takeaway of Mr. Hinton’s speech was to remember our position as good citizens of the world and to do everything in our power to learn about inequities in our systems and take action to change them.
