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A review by bobachel
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I work as a public defender in a system that proves its brokenness to me on a weekly basis. It is frequently hard to feel like I’m doing anything worthwhile. This book both reinforced that fact and emphasized how important it is that I never stop trying to help.
Ray Hinton’s story about his life, which was largely stolen from him by a corrupt and broken legal system, manages to be simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. I don’t think any of us can truly imagine the horror of living on death row, especially as an innocent person. It likely would have been easy for Mr. Hinton to give up many times of the 28 years he spent wrongfully condemned to death row. It would have been easy to be consumed by rage and hatred and despair. His survival of this injustice, done with unimaginable grace, leaves me largely speechless.
There are many important lessons in this book. I think it’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read. But the most important lesson: we must abolish the death penalty. Justice demands it.
Ray Hinton’s story about his life, which was largely stolen from him by a corrupt and broken legal system, manages to be simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. I don’t think any of us can truly imagine the horror of living on death row, especially as an innocent person. It likely would have been easy for Mr. Hinton to give up many times of the 28 years he spent wrongfully condemned to death row. It would have been easy to be consumed by rage and hatred and despair. His survival of this injustice, done with unimaginable grace, leaves me largely speechless.
There are many important lessons in this book. I think it’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read. But the most important lesson: we must abolish the death penalty. Justice demands it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder