After finishing The Sun Does Shine, I had a range of emotions. Right at the top I was angry. I was mad at the injustice of Anthony Ray Hinton being arrested for a crime he did not commit. Second, I was mad at the whole process of representation because he was poor. Then I was angry at how racist the whole judicial system is. Anthony said it best when he said judges traded their white robes for black. 

Hopeful that evidence in his case would set him free. He passed a polygraph test, but isn’t admissible in court. No weapon found, but the police found his mother’s gun that hadn’t been used in 25 years. Public defenders that wanted him to plead guilty to a lesser charge when he is innocent. Thirty years is a long time to be incarcerated for something he didn’t do. The resilience that Anthony had to make the best out of an unspeakable situation is nothing but inspirational. Was it faith or fate when civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson picked up his case? Either way it was what Anthony needed and deserved. “Alabama persists as the only state in the nation that allows elected trial judges to override jury verdicts of life imprisonment to death with no restrictions or standards.” Looks like lynching to me.

It’s remarkable what Anthony Ray Hinton endured. All the while never losing hope. How he saw light in the darkest of situations is a lesson in faith I’ll remember and carry with me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK. Oh my goodness. I always wanted to know what went on in the head of someone in that situation and it was a beautiful beautiful read

Breathtaking and scary. This book had me hooked from the first page, knowing this was based on a true story. I am horrified this is happening so often in our country

In 1985, 29 year-old Anthony Ray Hinton was wrongly accused of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to death. He was just a poor, innocent black man in Alabama. Accused basically based off of the color of his skin, he would fight for his innocence and freedom before he was released 30 years later in 2015. He speaks about his life, his trial, his time on the row, and his release. And though it is very difficult to read, it allows for there to be an understanding of what it means to be poor and black within a system that allows for racism to still exist unjustly. Thirty years of this man's life was gone to him. However, through it all, he fought. He fought, not just for his freedom, but for his innocence. He wanted to prove his innocence. He prayed for everyone involved. The ones that he put away, and the ones that stood by him since day one. It is a story about how in one instance, your life can literally change forever. I recommend this book to everyone.

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton is his personal story.  Mr Hinton spent years on death row until he was finally acquitted.  Years and years of his life were robbed from him.  This is his story of finding life again, even on death row.  This is a story that deserves to be told and read. I highly recommend it.  I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher.  These opinions are entirely my own.

It's not often that a book comes around that changes my POV on an important issue. I had never had a very strong stance on the death penalty before reading Anthony Ray Hinton's story, but I definitely do now. The fact that this man was incarcerated on death row for 30 years (!) before being acquited of all charges is a true travesty of justice. And it's really only a miracle (and one inspirational lawyer) that saved him from being executed. Hinton describes the horrors of being on death row and the small, daily indignities that exist for incarcerated individuals. Although he points out that some people deserve to be there, about one in every 10 death row prisoners is actually innocent. The powerful afterword of this memoir includes the names of every prisoner currently on death row. Hinton suggests reading the names out loud and pausing after every tenth name to say, "innocent." This is a moving exercise, much like the rest of Hinton's incredibly heartbreaking, yet still positive story.

So many emotions surfaced as I read this book: anger, sadness, hope, joy, faith. Anthony "Ray" Hinton had some minor scrapes with the law, enough that he was "in the system", and was pulled into a police lineup. Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, he spent 30 years on death row. His case wasn't simply mistaken identity or circumstantial evidence, it was suppressed evidence, racist attorneys, and the desire for a conviction. 
The absolute beauty of this book is the depth of Mr. Hinton's faith and his love for humanity in spite of his situation. All at once heartbreaking and hopeful, The Sun Does Shine is a transformative read. Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row was a good read by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin. Anthony was arrested in 1985 and charged with two capital murders. This book follows him and his release in 2015. I enjoyed reading this book.

The Sun Does Shine is one of the most powerful books I have ever read.  I strongly feel that it should be on everyone’s required reading list.  I had so many different feelings while reading this masterpiece...disbelief, anger, frustration, admiration, sorrow, just to name a few.  After being railroaded by the justice system in Alabama in the mid eighties, Anthony Hinton was falsely charged with murder and sentenced to electrocution on death row.  There was no evidence to convict him., other than being poor and black, in fact there was no evidence to support the fact that he did not commit the crimes he was accused of.
The power in this book is the transformation in Anthony, his fellow inmates on death row, and the guards in the prison.  He is such a strong person to have lived in the conditions he did and yet to find a way to make his situation a positive one for everyone involved.  I loved the total commitment from his childhood friend, Lester, which also spoke to Anthony’s leadership qualities.  
I strongly urge everyone to read this inspirational book, based on pure tragedy.  The next time I am asked who I would most like to meet, Anthony Ray Hinton will immediately come to mind.  Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this unforgettable book.

This is Hinton's account of his wrongful incarceration and acquittal after 3 decades! And to think he was this close to being hanged when he was convicted on a mere gun that was never even shot or found at the crime scene!

Extremely troubling is the fact that officers tried to get Hinton to sign a blank piece of paper right after his no-incident arrest, suggesting it was for his own good since his 'signature' would confirm that no one had been violent to him during his arrest or interrogation. Scary.

My Takeaway

“I was born with the same gift from God we are all born with – the impulse to reach out and lessen the suffering of another human being. It was a gift, and we each had a choice whether to use this gift or not.”
Anthony Ray Hinton, The Sun Does Shine

Wow. The Sun Does Shine generated so many emotions for me and here I am a week later, still thinking about it. To be honest, I don't think my review will do it justice, but it's definitely worth a try. The compelling and extraordinary memoir made me sad, enraged, weep and smile. The beyond infernal ordeal Ray Hinton went through for thirty years was quite unimaginable. Personally, I do not think I could have endured any amount of time in Holman State Prison. Hinton's pain and suffering are well depicted - I felt his desperation, sorrow, and pain, but I also felt his moments of hope, faith and incessant optimism. The Sun Does Shine is a book everyone should read to have a better understanding of how unjust our judicial system can be. There's a reason why Oprah has made it her Book Club Summer 2018 selection! Get reading and keep the tissues nearby. I would like to thank Ray Hinton for having the courage to share his remarkable story with the world. I hope to be able to meet him someday.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion (however, I also purchased a copy for my personal library).

This was such an eye opening book! It seems unbelievable that an innocent man can be sentenced to death row and be stuck in prison for 30 years.  Anthony Ray Hinton was innocent but too poor to pay for a good lawyer to help him get the evidence he needed to set him free.  The most amazing part about this book is Hinton's positive attitude through out this ordeal.  He watched over 50 prisoners walk to the electric chair and had to deal with the smell and grief afterwards.  Many of the prisoners on death row looked to Hinton for advice and friendship so he suffered the loss of every one executed.  One of Hinton's accomplishments in prison was starting a book club and one of the books they read was To Kill A Mockingbird, a book about a black man wrongly accused of a crime.  This book gave hope to Hinton that one day a lawyer who believed in him would set him free.  I highly recommend this powerful book about a man who never gave up and the family and friends that never gave up on him.

Attorney Bryan Stevenson sums up the purpose and the power of amazing book perfectly for me in her forward: "We also need to learn about human dignity, about human worth, and value. We need to think about the fact that we are all more than the worst thing we have done. Anthony Ray Hinton's story helps us understand some of these problems and ultimately what it means to survive, to overcome, and to forgive." 

Hinton's story will stir hearts to live richly, forgive deeply, and to walk in the newness and possibilities inherent in each new day. His book offers the gift of human transformation and redemption--a message we all need to hear and embrace.

This is the story of blatant and intentional racism and discrimination. Anthony Ray Hinton was charged with murder because of the color of his skin and his inability to hire a competent defense attorney.

"You know, I don't care whether you did or didn't do it. In fact, I believe that you didn't do it. But it doesn't matter. If you didn't do it, one of your brothers did. And you're going to take the rap." Lieutenant Acker of Birmingham Police Department

Mr. Hinton was found guilty of murder by a jury and given a life sentence in prison. A judge overruled the jury and changed the sentence to death by electrocution.

The author spent his first three years on death row in silence. He was a Christian man and could not understand how God could allow something like this to happen. His heart was full of anger and revenge toward the people who had sent an innocent man to death row.

The beautiful thing about this story is how the author eventually became a shining light of hope for the other prisoners on death row. Mr. Hinton started reaching out to other prisoners. He got permission to start a book club and prisoners were allowed to read and discuss books. He tried to keep a positive attitude despite many discouraging years of fighting for freedom in the legal system. 

"I forgive because not to forgive would only hurt me." Anthony Ray Hinton

The author credits his faith in God, his mother's unconditional love, the loyalty of his best friend and an excellent attorney from the Equal Justice Initiative for his eventual exoneration and release from death row.

Anthony Ray Hinton was the 152nd person exonerated from death row in the United States since 1973 and the sixth in the state of Alabama. He is now a poster boy for all that is broken in our criminal justice system. 

Our pledge of allegiance..."one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." That should be our vision for the future.

I was certain I would love this title. I have a strong interest in Civil Rights, oppose the death penalty, and this title seemed as if it would be right up my alley. Not so much, as it turns out. My thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin's for the DRC; my fondness for St. Martin's titles is one more reason I made the request. 

To be fare, Mr. Hinton acknowledges that having been deprived of contact with the world outside prison--death row no less--he emerged as if he'd been in an isolation chamber, and in a sense he had. But even at the time he was incarcerated, it was not appropriate to talk about women the way he does here. He seems to have two categories: one belongs to the saints, and the only woman that qualifies is his late mother. Other women, in particular the young attractive ones that excite his carnal instincts, are objectified. He speaks of his religious awakening and knows that there are some things he needs to steer clear of, and in a list of sinful habits and acquisitions he includes women, as if people that are female have the same standing in life as a sports car or a moonshine still. I skipped over passages like these for awhile, and after I hit the thirty percent mark, I understood that nothing could induce me to blog and promote this title. A sad thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.   Highly recommended read!   Thanks for providing through Net Galley.  Five Stars *****

I was drawn to this book because of the foreword by Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and one of my favorite books this year. Hinton writes an incredibly moving story and memoir that details his time serving on death row for crimes that he did not commit until finally, after much time has passed, he is exonerated. The strongest part of this book was the force of the author's personality, which compelled me to feel both sad and angry.

The Sun does Shine was an interesting book and provided an eye opening read.  It was tragic that Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years of his  life on death row even though the evidence pointed to his innocence .  I can’t say I agreed with some of the things written by Anthony Ray.  However, in writing a review, it is not my business to discuss my personal opinions on the topics addressed in this book. Rather,  my focus is on whether the book was a book worth reading.  The Sun does Shine will be meaningful for many.  It provides a different viewpoint of capital punishment that might not have been considered before and will be of interest to those who want to know more about criminal law. Mr Ray was very thorough in sharing the details of his experience. 
	Three resounding themes seemed to reverberate as Mr Ray shared about his path to and from death row.  The first is his emphasis that one of the primary reasons this happened was because of a racist system.  The second emphasis seemed to be on expression his opinion that corporal punishment should be eliminated. And finally, Mr. Hinton shared how a criminal justice system that was incredibly complicated and in need of reform. 
	As I previously mentioned, I wasn’t always in agreement with the opinions expressed by Mr. Hinton. However, I was so disturbed that an innocent man spent 30 years on death row. And I have a deep respect that in spite of that he has such a great attitude.  I appreciate Mr Hinton sharing his story which will be eye opening for many. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 

I posted this on Amazon, BN and Good reads. However, I have not received an email yet that the reviews were posted. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book

Whatever I write in my review of this novel will not give this novel the justice it deserves. When I first started to read this novel, I wasn’t quite sure this novel was cut out for me.  I didn’t want a novel that shouted injustice and cruelty at me, I wanted a novel that slowly walked me down the path towards proving their point and as I read further, I realized that this novel was doing just that and I couldn’t get Ray off my mind. I wanted to form my own opinion, I wanted to be a free thinker.  As Ray walked me through his life behind bars and the ordeal that changed his life, it showed how extensive this sentence really is on an individual’s life.

Ray spent thirty years in solitary confinement for a crime he said he didn’t commit.  Living on Alabama’s death row for thirty years, Ray fought behind bars for his freedom with the help of some amazing individuals.  When finally released from prison, Ray was found innocent of his crimes.  Ray tried to rationale with authorities thirty years ago that he didn’t commit these crimes but racial barriers and financial issues tied these crimes to Ray.

I read Ray’s story beginning with his childhood, to when he went to work, to when they charged him with the crimes, to when he went to trial, and then as they marched him off to prison.  He had a been a religious man until the time he went to prison and then, he pushed God away.  He later reconnected with God when a fellow inmate was going through a rough time.  This is not a religious novel but this shows what type of person Ray was and how he felt about what he was going through. I liked how Ray did not wallow and blame the system for the situation he was in but rather he decided to try to make the best of it.  In prison, Ray started doing research and encouraged others to fight for their rights (in a respectable manner). He started a book club in the prison to give the inmates something else to think about as life on death row was not a pleasant situation. Other inmates and the guards began to look up to Ray, to think that the morality inside this ward could improve, was amazing.  

The vicious cycle Ray had to endure as his appeals were denied was discouraging and depressing.  I was losing hope and I was wondering how Ray could keep his spirits up when all around him, individuals were walking “the green mile” and others were just waiting for the date when their walk would take place.  

There were tears and goosebumps shed as I read this novel and I would love to read this novel again in the future.  His story brought hope and peace to those who knew him and hopefully in the future, his story will bring change.  I highly recommend this novel if this story is a genre that you enjoy reading.

I received a copy of this novel from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.  I thank you greatly for sharing this title with me, it truly was a wonderful novel.

"The moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, but justice needs help. Justice only happens when good people take a stand against injustice. The moral arc of the universe needs people to support it as it bends. And yes, it also needs people to pick a side."

Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit. He spent 30 years on death row in Alabama. The prime of his life was stolen away by a broken system that is quick to convict and slow to find true justice--if it ever does at all.

The Sun Does Shine is a story of the immeasurable harm that racism still inflicts on the United States. It's a story of the dogged pursuit of justice in the face of a hopeless amount of obstacles. It's a story of hope, of friendship, and of unbelievable forgiveness. 

Through gut-wrenching prose and exceptional empathy, Hinton relays the tale of his life and suffering on death row in a way that is both captivating and rage-inducing, forcing readers to realize this is all being done in our name. He leaves us with a final challenge: "The death penalty is broken, and you are either part of the death squad or you are banging on the bars. Choose."

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2378366943

Amazon review pending.