Danford Thomas Memorial Lecture

DANFORD THOMAS MEMORIAL LECTURE SERIES The Sun Does Shine:

How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

As Anthony Ray Hinton recalled his 28 years on Alabama’s death row, tears slid down his cheeks and the faces of many audience members in a moving and unforgettable night in John L. Hill Chapel, April 7th, during the annual Danford Thomas Memorial Lecture.

Hinton’s story of being falsely accused of two murders in 1985 and the subsequent injustices that followed were riveting, but his account of befriending a fellow death-row inmate, the son of a Ku Klux Klan leader who was later executed for the brutal murder and lynching of a black teenager in 1981, was a testament to the power of love to triumph over hate. He urged his listeners to seek justice, not vengeance, to forgive those who wrong them, and do what they can to change the country into one that lives out Christ’s plea to “love your neighbor.”

Hinton was removed from death row and released in 2015 due to the ongoing efforts of the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal assistant to incarcerated people. The group has been responsible for helping more than 150 people be released from death row. Hinton’s book,The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, chronicles his story.

In recent years Georgetown’s faculty have used a related book,Just Mercy,as part of the Foundations program for first-year students. The book—a personal account of the work done by the Equal Justice Initiative by Hinton’s attorney, Bryan Stevenson—includes details about the fight to release him. The course helps students focus on what it means to be human, examines the pursuit of civil rights in America, the struggle against racism, and problems in the justice system. Students also have made trips to civil rights museums and memorials during the course.

At the end of the lecture, Hinton answered questions from audience members, some of whom shared their own stories of interactions with the justice system. Following that, the speaker met with College trustees, administrators, and city and county officials at a private reception where he also signed copies of his book.

The Danford Thomas Memorial lectureship was established in 1920 by his family to bring speakers of public interest to the College. Dr. Horace Hambrick, currently a Georgetown Trustee, is a descendant of the Thomas family that established the trust that funds this lecture series.Past speakers have included Helen Keller, Sam Donaldson, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, and Tony Campolo.

with author Anthony Ray Hinton

Anthony Hinton’s personal story of the decades he spent falsely convicted of murder and living on Alabama’s death row moved many listeners.