Star Tribune
Anthony Ray Hinton, who was wrongly convicted and then freed from death row, shares his story
It has happened to others, what happened to Anthony Ray Hinton, the author of “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life And Freedom on Death Row.”
He was 29 and innocent when he was arrested and charged with capital murder after a string of fatal armed robberies in 1985 in Birmingham, Ala. As he was being sentenced to death, he only thought of one person.
“I dropped my head,” Hinton writes toward the beginning of the book. “Judge Garrett banged his gavel, and my attorney said some things about an appeal, but my stomach was in my throat and there was a buzzing in my ears like a swarm of bees had been let loose in the courtroom. I thought I heard my mom crying as if in pain, and I looked back to see Dollie and Rosemary circled around her. The bailiffs were leading me toward the door that led out the back of the courtroom, but I turned and started to walk toward my mom. One of the bailiffs grabbed my arm below the shoulder, and I could feel each of his fingers digging in hard. There was no going to her. There was no way for me to comfort her. They would kill me if they could. I couldn’t let them. I needed to get back to my mom, and she needed to get me back.”
Hinton was freed in 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction, and his story was referenced in the 2019 movie “Just Mercy.”
His book has been selected for the sixth season of the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after my great-great-great-grandmother, who was enslaved in Alabama and Georgia in the 1840s and 1850s. Our partnership with Hennepin County Library, Friends of Hennepin County Library and the Star Tribune continues three years after it began with one specific goal: Use education as a foundation for dialogue about the challenges marginalized communities endure and the solutions those obstacles demand.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at our author event with Hinton at 6:30 p.m. April 25 at Minneapolis Central Library and then at our panel discussion with formerly incarcerated Minnesotans on May 16, also at 6:30 p.m.
Our incarcerated population is often the most silenced community. A conviction is generally viewed as a guarantee of guilt, regardless of evidence that might suggest otherwise. And even for those who’ve been exonerated, such as Hinton, the stigma often follows them the rest of their lives.
Our goal with this book and the accompanying dialogue is to highlight the experiences within Minnesota’s prison system and the men and women who have been affected by it.
Hinton’s story is familiar. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the exoneration of Marvin Haynes, who had been convicted in the 2005 murder of an employee at a Minneapolis flower shop. A physical description by an eyewitness did not match Haynes, whose family members had said he was at home when the murder occurred. He is free now, and I have since received letters and emails from people in Minnesota prisons who say they are also innocent.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, exonerated defendants — to date — have collectively served more than 25,000 years for crimes they did not commit. With limited resources available to a significant portion of the prison population, it’s unknown how many innocent inmates died long before they had the opportunity to fight their convictions.
But conversations about mass incarceration should not only involve those who deserve to be freed. The effectiveness of the American prison system is also worth discussing, along with the treatment of those who are incarcerated.
In September, inmates at the state prison in Stillwater protested the conditions there, citing concerns about overheated rooms and unhealthy water. The prison population is often the most vulnerable. In 2020, the mortality rate in U.S. jails and prisons increased by 77% compared with 2019 as COVID-19 rates increased, according to a study by Science Advances.
Facing death, Hinton endured every challenge, knowing he was innocent of the crime that cost him nearly 30 years of his life. I think he had every right to feel embittered and angry, long after his exoneration.
Instead, he decided “the sun does shine” through the darkness. I’m not convinced, under the same circumstances, that I would have found that light. But he did. And his story changed his life and the lives of inmates he helped throughout his time in prison.
“I look for purpose in losing 30 years of my life,” he says toward the end of the book. “I try to make meaning out of something so wrong and so senseless. We all do. We have to find ways to recover after bad things happen. We have to make every ending be a happy ending.”
Myron Medcalf is a local columnist for the Star Tribune and recipient of the 2022 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for general column writing.
A 19-year-old driver trying to get around slower vehicles collided head-on with an SUV in Wright County and killed one person and injured several others, officials said Thursday.
SUV passenger Janice Evelyn Johnson, 92, of Arden Hills, died Monday at HCMC from injuries she suffered in the collision on Oct. 22 in Monticello Township on County Road 37 near County Road 12, the Sheriff’s Office said in a search warrant affidavit filed in Hennepin County District Court.
The driver and two other people in the SUV survived their injuries, according to the affidavit, which the Sheriff’s Office filed to collect Johnson’s medical records at HCMC as part of its investigation.
According to the affidavit:
Deputies arrived at the crash scene and spoke with the car’s driver, Christian Kabunangu, of Brooklyn Park, who said he was heading west on County Road 37 and found himself behind two vehicles traveling below the speed limit.
“He was late for work, so he decided to pass them,” the affidavit read. Kabunangu said he saw the oncoming SUV and estimated it was about a half-mile down the road.
As he attempted to pass one of the slower vehicles, he explained, the other driver “sped up, preventing him from getting back into the westbound lane,” the filing continued.
As the Honda drew near, he swerved to the left, but the SUV did the same and they collided.
Star Tribune
University of Minnesota researchers find that native plants can beat invasive buckthorn on their own turf.
If the invasive buckthorn that is strangling the life out of Minnesota’s forest floor has a weakness, it is right now, in the shortening daylight of the late fall.
With a little help and planning, certain native plants have the best chance of beating buckthorn back and helping to eradicate it from the woods, according to new research from the University of Minnesota.
The sprawling bush has been one of the most formidable invasive species to take root in Minnesota since it was brought from Europe in the mid-1800s. It was prized as an ornamental privacy hedge. All the attributes that make buckthorn good at that job — dense thick leaves that stay late into the fall, toughness and resilience to damage and pruning, unappealing taste to wildlife and herbivores — have allowed it to thrive in the wild.
It grows fast and thick, out-competing the vast majority of native plants and shrubs for sunlight and then starving them under its shade. It creates damaging feedback loops, providing ideal habitat and calcium-rich food for invasive earthworms, which in turn kill off and uproot native plants. That leaves even less competition for buckthorn to take root, said Mike Schuster, a researcher for the university’s Department of Forest Resources.
When it takes over a natural area, buckthorn creates a “green desert,” Schuster said. “All that’s left is just a perpetual hedge, with little biodiversity.”
Since the 1990s, when the spread became impossible to ignore, Minnesota foresters, park managers and cities have spent millions of dollars a year trying to beat it back. They’ve used chainsaws and trimmers, poisons and herbicides, and even goats for hire. The buckthorn almost always grows back within a few years.
It’s been so pervasive that a conventional wisdom formed that buckthorn seeds could survive dormant in the soil for up to six years. That thought has led to a sort of fatalism: even if the plant were entirely removed from a property there would be a looming threat that it would sprout back, Schuster said.
But there is nothing special about buckthorn seeds. They only survive for a year or two.
Eden Prairie Eagles (6-3) at Maple Grove Crimson (9-0), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Maple Grove faithful are understandably jittery about getting Eden Prairie this early in the playoffs, but they should trust their eyes. The Crimson are loaded, with quality playmakers at every turn, like safety/receiver Dylan Vokal. Eden Prairie is built for games like this, but while the Eagles will keep things tight for awhile, Maple Grove will pull away in the second half, leading to a seismic sigh-of-relief from northwest metro. The pick: Maple Grove 35, Eden Prairie 21
David says: Eden Prairie’s time, however decorated an success-filled, is done and over. Provided the Crimson are able to take it. Maple Grove is capable of success as long as players don’t make the moment too big. Former coach Matt Lombardi cracked the code. What about his replacement, Adam Spurrell? The pick: Maple Grove 21, Eden Prairie 14
Edina Hornets (7-2) at Eagan Wildcats (5-3), 7 p.m.
Jim says: On paper, this leans toward an Edina victory. The Hornets have top-end talent on offense (QB Mason West, WR Meyer Swinney), an under-appreciated defense and a season-opening 35-14 victory over Eagan. But the Wildcats are resilient and don’t back down from anyone. Quarterback Brooklyn Evans is adept at running the Wildcats option offense and will keep them in the game. The pick: Edina 28, Eagan 15
David says: Tempting as it is to pick against Edina and revel in another office cake party, let’s go with the Hornets in this one. Expect an improved Eagan team to keep Edina within reach, however. The pick: Edina 21, Eagan 20
Alexandria Cardinals (7-2) at Moorhead Spuds (9-0), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Alexandria came oh-so-close to beating Moorhead on Oct. 11, falling 36-34 when a game-winning field goal went wide-left. While the Cardinals hoped for this rematch, Moorhead has the look of a team on a mission. Outside of the head-to-head matchup, Moorhead dominated every other opponent with a series of 30-point plus victories. No one mashes the Spuds. The pick: Moorhead 44, Alexandria 34
David says: The Game of the Year, Part II. Only thing to make this more juicy would be an upset. Is Alexandria up to that task? I don’t have the courage to go out on that limb in this space. The pick: Moorhead 42, Alexandria 24
Andover Huskies (7-2) at Elk River Elks (8-1), 7 p.m.
Jim says: Another highly anticipated rematch. Andover handed mistake-prone Elk River it’s only loss, 47-31, on Sept. 20. With three lost fumbles, Elks’ coach Steve Hamilton called it the worst game they’ve played in five years. You can bet they’re itching to prove they’re better than they showed that night. The pick: Elk River 49, Andover 37
David says: Bet the over when these two teams clash. Andover’s quarterback Joseph Mapson is a much more polished and proven signal caller that he was in late September. The Pick: Andover 49, Elk River 48.
