Anthony Ray Hinton: Claiming My Life Back — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00I grew up outside of Birmingham a little
2. 0:02place called pricker Alabama in 1985 on
3. 0:06July and I woke up that morning and
4. 0:09didn't have a care in the world and I
5. 0:12goes outside I just happened to look up
6. 0:14and that Stuart two white gentlemen that
7. 0:17I never seen before and they said we
8. 0:19have a warrant for your arrest and I
9. 0:21said for what
10. 0:22and one of them replied we'll tell you
11. 0:25that later but right now we want you to
12. 0:27put your hands behind your back I show
13. 0:29my mother the Handcuff and like any good
14. 0:32mother she began to scream and holler
15. 0:34what are those handcuffs doing on my
16. 0:36baby
17. 0:37and on our way to the county jail I
18. 0:39actually detected why am I being
19. 0:41arrested
20. 0:42I must ask these detected at least 50
21. 0:45times why am I being arrested and
22. 0:47finally on the 51st time he said we're
23. 0:50going to charge you with first degree
24. 0:51robbery first degree kidnap first degree
25. 0:54attempt to murder I said but I haven't
26. 0:55done any of that you got the wrong
27. 0:57person he said let me tell you something
28. 1:00right now
29. 1:01I don't care whether you did it or
30. 1:03didn't do it he said but I'm going to
31. 1:05make sure you found guilt of it I said
32. 1:07for a crime I didn't commit
33. 1:09he said you must have a hearing problem
34. 1:11didn't I tell you I don't care whether
35. 1:13you did it or didn't do it
36. 1:15he said there's five things that are
37. 1:18going to convict you he said number one
38. 1:20you're black number two a white man is
39. 1:22gonna say you shot him whether you shot
40. 1:25him or not I do not care he said number
41. 1:28three you're gonna have a white
42. 1:29prosecutor number four you're gonna have
43. 1:31a white judge and number five you're
44. 1:34gonna have an all-white jewelry and he
45. 1:36said do you know what that spell and he
46. 1:39repeated the word conviction conviction
47. 1:42conviction conviction conviction
48. 1:48[Music]
49. 1:52well I went to trial and they convicted
50. 1:54me on two counts of first degree capital
51. 1:57murder and on December 17 1986
52. 2:02I went to Alabama death row
53. 2:05where I would remain for the next 30
54. 2:07years of my life
55. 2:08and I was so angry with God and I was so
56. 2:11angry with everything that went on with
57. 2:13this case that I decided that I wasn't
58. 2:16going to talk to anybody
59. 2:18going into the fourth year I woke up to
60. 2:21the sound of a grown man crying I got
61. 2:24out of my bed and I went up to the bars
62. 2:27and I said sir do you need me to call
63. 2:30and get the officer back here
64. 2:32he said no
65. 2:34I just got worried my mother died
66. 2:37and when he told me that
67. 2:40my heart just broke
68. 2:42I realized that my mother was still
69. 2:45alive and I realized that I was still
70. 2:48alive
71. 2:49and I realized for the last three years
72. 2:51I had gave
73. 2:54the state of Alabama more than I
74. 2:56intended to give and I had gave them my
75. 2:59joy
76. 3:00the day that I shook Brian Stevenson
77. 3:03hand I knew that God has sent me
78. 3:07his best lawyer
79. 3:09I said Mr Stevenson if no two guns it's
80. 3:13alike I know that the state of Alabama
81. 3:15is telling a lie
82. 3:18I said Mr Stevenson
83. 3:20I need you to hire
84. 3:22a ballistic expert
85. 3:25I need you to hire
86. 3:28a white man
87. 3:34[Music]
88. 3:35and I said it definitely cannot be
89. 3:41person of color
90. 3:42three months later he informed me that
91. 3:45he found three other world
92. 3:47renowned expert
93. 3:50each one of them tests are gone told Mr
94. 3:52Stevenson that the state of Alabama had
95. 3:55made a mistake
96. 3:57on April the 3rd
97. 4:002015 I walked out the Jefferson County
98. 4:04jail for the first time
99. 4:07to freedom in 30 years
100. 4:10and it was like
101. 4:12Bittersweet before I had wanted
102. 4:15my mother to be there
103. 4:19and she just didn't survive that long
104. 4:24and I felt
105. 4:26cheated
106. 4:27but I also
107. 4:29we're thankful
108. 4:32that Brian Stevenson
109. 4:35stayed with me through it all
110. 4:38for 16 long years
111. 4:43my name is Anthony Ray Hinton and this
112. 4:46is my brief but spectacular take on
113. 4:50claiming my life back