Anthony Ray Hinton

Today I had the chance to meet Anthony Ray Hinton, a man accused of capital murder and sentenced to death (in 1985). He spoke of how he sat on death row in Alabama for 30 years. All because he was wrongly convicted of robbery homicide (a crime that he did NOT) commit. It was a racially motivated arrest simply because the officers thought that he committed the crime based off of his skin color. The moment this story came out of his mouth, I began to cry. I couldn't control my emotions and the tears flowed from my eyes. It upset my how unfair the justice system was toward Anthony. It had failed him. It hurt me, listening to him talk about how there were so many times when he wanted to kill himself. But he fought through the pain for his beloved mother and himself. He did not want to give up, and he continues to have hope and joy in his heart. He got out of jail April 3rd, 2015. The police and Alabama took away 30 years of his life and the ability to see his mother before she passed, but they had not taken away his joy and sense of humor. It disgusted me, how the police are able to abuse the justice system due to racially motivated thoughts. It is unfair. The state of Alabama has yet to apologize to Anthony for wrongly convicting him. After Q and A, I ran to catch Anthony before he left. I was crying but I thanked him for how amazing of a person he was, and told him that I had never met someone more inspiring in my life. And it was true. He held me in an embrace, as I continued to cry. We cried together and then took a picture together. This is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am so grateful to have been able to meet someone so amazing. I hope to be able to work and help people get the justice that they rightly deserve….because THAT is what America is really about. 

Sam Brooks, The Park School of Baltimore