Summary

The book's forward is written by Bryan Stevenson, Hinton's lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. His forward introduces readers to Anthony Ray Hinton as "one of the longest-serving condemned prisoners facing execution in America to be proved innocent and released" (ix). Stevenson writes about Hinton's youth growing up poor and black in the rural south and characterizes him as a unique spirit "blessed with an extraordinary sense of humor" (ix). Stevenson briefly summarizes the facts of Hinton's case: he was working in a secure facility with a guard who recorded arrivals and departures at the time of the crime. Police and state officials tied an old gun from his mother's home to the crime as well as two others which led to charges against Hinton despite his alibi and the fact that he passed a polygraph test. At trial, Mr. Hinton's court...