Anthony Ray Hinton's Inspiring Memoir: The Sun Does Shine: My Journey to Life, Freedom, and Justice

Katharina: I have read this book within less than a day and feel it will have a lasting impact. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and family. Ray (I am going to call him that as he introduces himself like this) masters to describe horrible things in a very gentle way. For me this a great call to action and incredible inspiration.

Germany on Oct 15, 2023

rheme: This book was recommended to me by my daughter in law who had read it and at that the time needed to find some good in life as she had been through a life changing experience. I read the book and was glad I did. I showed that out of adversity can come positivity and very thought provoking.

United Kingdom on Oct 09, 2023

david canford: This book is a must read. If you’re against the death penalty, it will make your blood boil. If you’re in favour of it, it should make you stop and think. In a justice system where it seems the rich can buy good enough lawyers to avoid conviction, but the poor often get extremely poor representation, how many innocent people have been executed? I have so much respect for the author who endured so much hardship yet forgave, despite thirty years of his life being stolen by the State of Alabama.

United Kingdom on Sep 17, 2023

olivia: i work at a prison in alabama and when i heard about this book i knew i had to read it and im glad i did.

United States on Aug 18, 2023

deanie1: I was hoping to learn so much more than I did about life on death row. I felt bogged down by all the minutiae pertaining to his legal battle. Though Mr. Hinton's story is certainly educational as well as inspirational, I wish the book would have given me more insight into what his life really was like. There were large time leaps where we got no notion of what was going on in that time.

United States on Aug 03, 2023

Alohatrbl: This is a very well written book by a man who was so horribly and unfairly treated. Thankfully he is a man of God, had a wonderful mother and best friend who believed in him and stood by him throughout and all that kept him with a positive attitude.

United States on Jul 28, 2023

Paisley Princess: Anthony Ray Hilton spent 30 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Instead of falling into despair, Hinton kept his hope alive through his hope, perseverance, and the strength of his strong spirit. “The Sun Does Shine” in a shining example of a man who used his wrongful incarceration to do good, while fighting the injustice that stole much of his life.

“The Sun Does Shine” is a human tragedy of phenomenal proportions. Anthony Hinton’s story is what happens when, in a rush to find a killer (or anyone who “looks” like a killer), an innocent person becomes a nameless number on death row. It is what happens when blood-thirsty prosecutorial and defense teams are conduits of a racist justice system, railroading poor and black defendants. You’ll laugh at the absurdities of prison life, cry at all that Hinton lost, yet root for him because he never lost hope or his humanity.

Despite such perilous odds, Hinton shows the reader that even through the darkest of hours, the sun does shine. Eventually.

United States on Jun 27, 2023

Joanna Dubois: If Ray"s story had been fiction no one would have believed the USA"s "justice " system could be so corrupt but Ray's story alas is true. The book is well written and Ray , in spite of the unbelievable hardships he went through, managed to put humour in his account. It is a book that uplifts the soul, inspires compassion and ultimately it's the kind of work that will change the system.
Ray's story, alas, is not unique. Another innocent black man, Roger Mc Gowen, has been incarcerated for more than 20 years in anothet USA grim prison. His story, written with Swiss writer Pierre Pradervand, under the title: "Messages of life from death row" is equally inspiring.

Spain on Jun 15, 2023

Vanessa: An incredible and inspiring story, told in such a philosophical way. It’s an extremely sad read but an amazing theme of rising above adversity in the most horrific circumstances.

Australia on May 03, 2023

Shimon Z. Klein: This book is certainly deserving of a 5-star rating. Anthony Ray Hinton was wrongly arrested and was innocent of murdering two restaurants’ managers in Birmingham, Alabama. He even had an alibi proving that he was innocent beyond any reasonable doubt. Evidence against him was false and prejudiced. He was sentenced to death and spent close on 30 years on Death Row in Alabama State Prison. Anthony Ray Hilton managed to survive his terrible nightmarish 30 years because he never lost hope. He also never harboured any hatred for his accusers. He was innocent of committing the murders and despite all the negative evidence against him that was concocted and twisted by the prosecutors and an ineffective attorney that represented him pro deo. His first attorney, Sheldon Perhacs, wanted money to defend Anthony Ray - money that Ray never had. Even the ballistic tests on the so-called weapon he was accused of using was a lie. His mother had a pistol that was never ever used in 25 years and lay abandoned in a drawer in the Hinton home. Perhacs was not interested in his client and at the end of the day using false evidence from a one-eyed ballistics “expert” supposed to be a defence...

United States on Jan 07, 2020