Shining Light on Wrongful Convictions with Exoneree Anthony Ray Hinton
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (July 12, 2021) – In partnership with Montgomery Bell Academy, the Tennessee Innocence Project will host a presentation with Anthony Ray Hinton, exoneree and author, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, at 5:30pm. General admission to the presentation is open and free to the public.
Mr. Hinton survived for 30 years on Alabama’s death row. His story is a decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom. In 1985, Mr. Hinton was convicted of the unsolved murders of two fast-food restaurant managers based on the testimony of ballistics experts for the State who claimed that the crime bullets came from a dusty revolver found in Mr. Hinton’s mother’s closet. Without the benefit of a competent expert to challenge the State’s theory, an all-white jury convicted Mr. Hinton and he was sentenced to death.
After years of petitioning to have the revolver re-analyzed, three independent experts concluded that the bullets could not have been fired from his mother’s revolver. With the assistance of the Equal Justice Initiative, led by attorney Bryan Stevenson, Mr. Hinton was freed in 2015. Since his release, Mr. Hinton has traveled the world sharing his story and discussing the changes that need to be made to prevent similar injustices from happening to other people. In 2018, Mr. Hinton published The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, which was selected for Oprah’s Book Club and is a New York Times bestseller. In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Bonaventure University.
The event will include a 45-minute presentation in which Mr. Hinton will share his journey to exoneration and freedom, followed by a 15-minute question and answer session.
As a ‘Friends of Freedom’ ticket holder or sponsor, individuals will receive reserved priority seating for the presentation and a copy of Mr. Hinton’s memoir. Ticket holders will then join Mr. Hinton for a book signing and cocktail reception following the event.
The event will take place at Montgomery Bell Academy’s Burkholder Wellness Center, 4001 Harding Pike, Nashville TN, 37205. Individuals can purchase cocktail reception tickets and/or RSVP for the general presentation at https://secure.givelively.org/event/tennessee-innocence-project/shining-light-on-wrongful-convictions-presentation-cocktail-reception-with-exoneree-anthony-ray-hinton.
About the Tennessee Innocence Project:
Launched in February 2019 as the first full-time innocence organization in the State, the Tennessee Innocence Project is a non-profit law firm working to free wrongfully convicted Tennesseans. To date, more than 2,700 people have lost more than 25,000 years due to wrongful convictions across the United States. The Tennessee Innocence Project has three primary areas of focus: 1) investigating and litigating wrongful conviction cases for those in Tennessee prisons to obtain exonerations, 2) training law students and attorneys about how to litigate these cases and how to prevent future wrongful convictions, and 3) effectuating changes that facilitate the discovery of wrongful convictions and remedies to the wrongfully convicted. To learn more, visit: www.tninnocence.org.
About Montgomery Bell Academy:
As the only all boys school in Middle Tennessee, founded in 1867, Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is proud of its roots and foundations dating back to the 1780’s. MBA opened its doors on September 9, 1867, with 26 scholars in two rooms. MBA has experienced tremendous growth in the 150 years since its founding. The school is now home to more than 750 students, 140 faculty and staff, facilities in three locations in Middle Tennessee, and exchange programs that span the globe. Fifteen headmasters have overseen the progress of MBA, each committed to helping every boy develop into a man of character, compassion, and intellectual curiosity. The mission of the school remains providing each MBA student with the tools to reach his maximum potential as gentleman, scholar, and athlete. To learn more about MBA, visit:www.montgomerybell.edu.
