Our Collective Experience

  Bryan Stevenson Attorney/lawyer December 11, 1996     10 years ago, I wrote a journal entry about a man who was convicted of murder but claims he was innocent and there was lots of proof that he was innocent as well. Over these past 10 years, the case was always in the back of my head and I never forgot about it but now 10 years later I will be taking over this case and working as hard as I can to get this innocent man off of death row. I have hope. I have faith. I will free this man. Bryan Stevenson Attorney/Lawyer May 17, 2000 Over the past four years I have been working with the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization to help criminals who were wrongly convicted get the proper lawyers they need, and we got someone from the FBI to prove the gun they found hasn't been shot in years. Trial after trial, appeal after appeal and still no luck. Anthony Ray Hinton is one of the 

  Sheldon C. Perhacs Lawyer February 21, 1986 I was assigned a very strange case, a young man by the name of Anthony Ray Hinton was accused of murdering 2 restaurant managers. I am his lawyer but to be honest I don't have so much hope for him. A third murder victim who survived with injury's identified Anthony as the killer. It is very rare to prove someone innocent with a witness, because of this I really had no hope for Ray. Although there was some proof about a polygraph test, which he passed, I don't see a good ending to this at his trial in a couple of days. Sheldon C. Perhacs Lawyer February 29, 1986     Trial is over. Anthony Ray Hinton is guilty and is sentenced to death for the murder of two restaurant managers. I didn't go in there thinking there was going to be a miracle. This man claims he is innocent and I know I am his lawyer but I don't believe him and I don't have hope he will be getting out of prison ever. There is a key witness that identified ...

Bryan Stevenson  Attorney February 27, 1986      Two days ago, I saw on the news that a young man named, Anthony Ray Hinton, was sentenced to death for the murder and injury of two restaurant managers. I had inside information and found out there was proof he was innocent but his judge, James Garret, ignored all of the proof and sentenced him to death. Judge Garret is white and the defense lawyer and the attorney the court assigned Hinton were also white. This to me looks like an act of plain racism, assuming that because Hinton is black he murdered these people, even with proof that he didn't!     All I want to tell this man is to have faith and never lose hope that everything will be ok. Even though I might not be able to help this man and his horrific situation, I can tell he is a man with gratitude and hope and is probably scared but will never ever lose the piece of hope that it will be ok in the end.