The year 1985 will be one that Anthony Ray Hinton will never forget. It was the year that he was convicted of a double murder and sent to his death-bed as a 28-year-old man.
After thirty years of fighting for life, Hinton was finally freed from imprisonment after forensic evidence proved he was innocent.
Via MSN:
Ray Hinton, 58, was released in the morning from the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham. He hugged tearful family members as he walked out and was embraced by his sister, Darlene Gardner, who said “Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus” as she hugged him.
“I shouldn’t have sat on death row for 30 years,” Hinton told reporters. “All they had to do was test the gun.”
Hinton was convicted of the 1985 murders of two Birmingham fast-food restaurant managers. Crime scene bullets were the only evidence that linked Hinton to the crime. However, prosecutors said this week that modern forensic methods did not show the fatal bullets came from a revolver in Hinton’s home, or even from the same gun.
Hinton said he would continue to pray for the victims’ families, as this was a miscarriage of justice for them as well.
“They had every intention of executing me for something I didn’t do,” Hinton said.
Of course, no monetary support can get those 30 years back, but it could help soothe the scars.
Watch the tear-jerking video of Hinton’s release below.
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Photo: AL.com
