What would you do if you were convicted of a crime that you did not commit and had to spend over a decade behind bars because the color of your skin meant that you were guilty?
Reading this book broke my heart, not because of what Anthony went through, but because of his courage to see the positive side of what he was going through and his speech at the stand forgiving the judicial system for accusing him wrongfully. I know not of the judicial system in America, but we have also had many cases of the judicial system failing Kenyans in terms of delivering justice, and this book made me both angry, confused, bitter, calm and hopeful as I read of the struggles he faced. I had to set it aside whenever I read about his mom because it was too much for me to bear. It's a book worth reading especially given the numerous accounts of white privilege and the social structure of America.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! This is a must-read memoir. Somewhere in the middle of Ray's story about his 30 years on Alabama's death row, I realized he'd been wrongfully convicted while I was still in nursing school (1985). While he survived and watched 54 prisoners walk past his cell to be electrocuted, I graduated with a BS, worked a 20-year career, raised my kids, married again, built a house, and traveled. Ray stayed in his 5 x 8-foot cell 23 hours a day and fought for the truth.

The enormity of the injustice is staggering. Convicted of two murders on false testimony, trumped-up ballistics reports, and underrepresented by a court-appointed lawyer, 29-year-old Ray was sentenced to death. It is only because of who he is as a person and an incredible lawyer who believed in him, that the prosecution eventually dropped the charges. But it took the Supreme Court of the United States to make them do it. They have yet to apologize or compensate him for the lost years.

While incarcerated Ray, at first filled with hate for everyone involved, learned to forgive. He became a model for others, formed a book club, and practiced compassion for others. The way he survived those endless days and nights is a most extraordinary tale.

At the end of the book, there is a list of men sitting on death row in the United States as of March 2017. As Ray points out, statistics show that one out of every ten of them is innocent. The list is long. Too long. Read them all, he says, and pause at every tenth name and say…"innocent."

I'd also like to give a shout out to Lara Love Hardin who helped Ray tell his story. Her words moved me deeply and made this book a more than compelling read.

This is an excellent book. too often stories about unjust convictions are more fairy tales than anything else. This one is not. This book is about a man who was railroaded by the system for more than 30 years.

What a touching story. A great job telling the story through Roy's eyes. Brings tears to you eyes to journey through the ignorant court system Roy had to endure. But he never gave up and an angle saved the day in Bryan Stevenson. The loyal friendship of Lester, another angle, who made the journey for 30 years is remarkable. Hopefully this book will help changed such a corrupt system. God Bless you Roy.

10 STARS......

This is an incredible journey Ray Hinton takes us on; I laughed, cried and was very angry from page to page. Such a profound human being. How does one stay positive when 30 years of precious life has been stolen from them? He speaks of his loving God often in the book, impressively his beliefs remain strong during the most difficult times in his life.

Before we get to death row and sadly for much of the book, we get a close up and personal tour of a very broken and corrupt justice systems. How could so many individuals paid and trusted by our government to protect "the people", turn their heads at so much obvious injustice? His initial attorney (Perhacs) turned my stomach. On several occasions I had tears streaming down my cheeks in either frustration or sadness, I don't think I have ever read another book that stirred so much emotion in me.

Ray takes us on a journey into death row; we meet and get to like his cell mates who many undoubtedly have committed heinous crimes, but as he points out, "people are more than just the worst thing they have ever done". He is able to keep his humor and travel outside his mind while 50 plus cell mates (they become family) are marched by his cell to the electric chair.

Ray has a unique mind that has the ability to travel outside of the prison walls and create a full life for himself. Traveling the world he created experiences for himself that kept his sanity, ie marrying Halle Berry, visiting Queen Elizabeth, playing pro ball, etc. It's truly amazing. What brought all this full circle for me was after his release he states "I realize it was easier for my mind to leave the row when I was inside than it is now that I'm free". Wow....

We get the pleasure of meeting Lester, Ray's life long best friend and hero who never falters in his love for his friend or misses a visit in 30 years. We also meet Bryan Stevenson who tirelessly fought for 15 years to prove Ray's innocence. Bryan is an angel sent personally by God (who else could make this happen after 30 years) to save this man.

In closing, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that prior to reading Ray's story, I was pro death penalty, eye for an eye. In good faith I can no hold on to that belief or I would be just like all the others that turned their head at his innocence.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A book I will NEVER forget. GET YOUR COPY..... 10 STARS....

This book is powerful and unputdownable; an incredible testament to the indefatigable spirit of a man facing an injustice so blatantly clear, that it's stunning he survived at all, much less thrived and is able to tell his his story in such an astoundingly beautiful way. This book is the definition of narrative-nonfiction. It reads like a novel, and breaks your heart as you let in sink in that it is indeed a true story of unspeakable injustice. But speak Anthony Ray Hinton does, and he does it so well, painting a picture of his death row home of nearly 30 years so vividly, that he takes your breath away as you read his experiences. While this book certainly stands on its own, if you've read Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, this a must read follow-up to that book. Mr. Stevenson fought tirelessly for Ray through his Equal Justice Initiative and talks about Ray's case in Just Mercy. The Sun Does Shine, we hear Ray's story of hope and survival in his own words. This is an important book. I will be recommending it to everyone.

This is a difficult book to read but because it is a true story, and very interesting, you also hate to put it down. It was very well written. You can’t help but feel the frustrations and disappointment in Ray’s story. How sad there was so much racism and corruption in Alabama ~really throughout the Deep South~ in the early seventies. No one wanted to listen to a convict on death row that was saying he was innocent. And even fewer people wanted to even try to help because he was poor. His nine siblings didn’t try to help him. Ray’s Mother and his best friend Lester believed in him and loved him unconditionally- I came away with great respect for these two even without meeting them. A good book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

I received an advanced copy of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a gut-wrenching book. It's hard to explain how a book about an innocent man's time on death row was life affirming and hopeful, but Anthony Ray Hinton's story is just that. I will be mentally and emotionally processing this book for the rest of my life. In a world where so many horrible things are happening, where there is so much hate, this book gave me a lot to think about.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2280498435?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Hinton writes with a perspective that is almost unimaginable to most of us. His perseverance and optimism is the foundation from which he writes his story. The system fails him over and over again for years and years yet he finds the strength and resources with the love of his mother and a childhood friend to continue on. His story is a must read and very well written.

This is the memoir of Anthony Ray Hinton, a black man from Alabama who was falsely accused and convicted of three robberies, two of which resulted in the deaths of the victims. Hinton was sentenced to death and spent 28 years on death row before being exonerated. This was a difficult book to read, but an important one, whether you are for or against the death penalty.
I was amazed at how positive the author remained even as his appeals were denied time and time again. It was upsetting to see the part money and racism played in Hinton's conviction. If he had been able to afford a better defense, if he had been white, I'm sure he never would have been arrested, much less convicted. It's scary to think that this type of broken judicial system exists in our country today.

This is a powerfully tragic life story of a man sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. His inspirational tale needs to be heard by one and all as a true testament to hope and resiliency.