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celia_lane's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
mugsandmanuscripts's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
"When you are hanging at the end of your rope, does it really matter what color the hand is that reaches up to help you?"
If you want to be humbled, read this book. If you want to be angry, read this book. If you want to know what the resilience of the human spirit looks like, read this book. If you want to know how asinine and racist the Alabama state judicial system is, read this book (to date, almost a decade after Ray's release, Alabama still has not admitted wrongdoing nor offered a single penny of renumeration to the man from whom they stole 30 years).
Seriously, this book hits on a lot of themes. Injustice is probably the biggest, but it finds company with hope, healing, faith, and forgiveness. Ray shows us how humanity can live even in the most inhumane circumstances.
The heartwarming and heart-wrenching aspects of Hinton's story are juxtaposed seamlessly throughout this memoir. On the one hand, he tells us about how he "escapes" into different places within his mind (the celebrity marriages he has, the places he travels, illustrious sports careers, etc.) and how this gets him through his years on Death Row. On the other, if you have any background in trauma, it's hard to read that without recognizing the disassociation and PTSD. He talks about starting a prison book club and having discussions about race, violence, guilt, injustice, and many other topics with dozens of men on death row, but he also talks about how those same men all still end up walking to the death chamber.
In one of the depictions I find most moving, he describes how the whole floor of inmates bangs and yells and makes as much noise as they can from their cells when an inmate faces their execution so that the inmate will know he's not alone, that he mattered. It's a moving picture of solidarity, found family, and brotherhood even amongst men who could have been enemies. But he also describes the sounds of the generator and the lingering smell of burnt flesh following the execution. It's powerful.
I don't feel like I can add much to the conversation other than to say that anyone reflecting on the death penalty should have this on their reading list. For every 8-9 people executed in the US, another is exonerated. Roughly 4% of the people sentenced to death are innocent. That means that this is not an isolated incident. Even if one thinks that capital punishment is just, it'd be pretty difficult to argue that the death penalty is.
The only quip I have about this book is that I wish the very final section were longer; I wanted to hear more about his post-prison life. I wanted to see more of his acclimatization (or non-acclimatization) to the world outside. I don't think this man owes healing to anyone (except maybe himself), and given his extremely long and traumatic experience, I would expect that his adjustment has been difficult. I'd just like to hear more about that part of the journey.
If you want to be humbled, read this book. If you want to be angry, read this book. If you want to know what the resilience of the human spirit looks like, read this book. If you want to know how asinine and racist the Alabama state judicial system is, read this book (to date, almost a decade after Ray's release, Alabama still has not admitted wrongdoing nor offered a single penny of renumeration to the man from whom they stole 30 years).
Seriously, this book hits on a lot of themes. Injustice is probably the biggest, but it finds company with hope, healing, faith, and forgiveness. Ray shows us how humanity can live even in the most inhumane circumstances.
The heartwarming and heart-wrenching aspects of Hinton's story are juxtaposed seamlessly throughout this memoir. On the one hand, he tells us about how he "escapes" into different places within his mind (the celebrity marriages he has, the places he travels, illustrious sports careers, etc.) and how this gets him through his years on Death Row. On the other, if you have any background in trauma, it's hard to read that without recognizing the disassociation and PTSD. He talks about starting a prison book club and having discussions about race, violence, guilt, injustice, and many other topics with dozens of men on death row, but he also talks about how those same men all still end up walking to the death chamber.
In one of the depictions I find most moving, he describes how the whole floor of inmates bangs and yells and makes as much noise as they can from their cells when an inmate faces their execution so that the inmate will know he's not alone, that he mattered. It's a moving picture of solidarity, found family, and brotherhood even amongst men who could have been enemies. But he also describes the sounds of the generator and the lingering smell of burnt flesh following the execution. It's powerful.
I don't feel like I can add much to the conversation other than to say that anyone reflecting on the death penalty should have this on their reading list. For every 8-9 people executed in the US, another is exonerated. Roughly 4% of the people sentenced to death are innocent. That means that this is not an isolated incident. Even if one thinks that capital punishment is just, it'd be pretty difficult to argue that the death penalty is.
The only quip I have about this book is that I wish the very final section were longer; I wanted to hear more about his post-prison life. I wanted to see more of his acclimatization (or non-acclimatization) to the world outside. I don't think this man owes healing to anyone (except maybe himself), and given his extremely long and traumatic experience, I would expect that his adjustment has been difficult. I'd just like to hear more about that part of the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racial slurs
barnes_and_noel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
camiand96's review against another edition
5.0
This book got me. I was so moved by Rays ability to persevere. While the justice system treated him as though his life was worth nothing he spent time getting to know are caring for some of the most violent criminals on death row and even called the guards who would be executing him his family. Ray is an amazing example to all of us that we are all Gods children with worth that cannot be measured by our wealth or the mistakes we’ve made.
ababs's review against another edition
5.0
This was a painful story to listen to but powerful. His ability to "hang in there" in the best of ways is inspiring, but the fact that he had to do it at all is infuriating. It was interesting to hear the intricacies of the court system and how much time is wasted on technicalities rather than actually trying to find the truth. It was an insightful contrast between a beautiful life and a cruel, unjust system.
cassmccaff's review against another edition
5.0
Holy smokes. Wow. What on earth. I am shocked at this very true account of racism and injustice. This was our ‘non fiction’ book club choice for this month and I am glad I read it.
Anthony was a clearly innocent black man in the 80’s wrongly accused of murder. On the day he was arrested, one of the officers there to arrest him said “honestly, I believe you didn’t do it. But I don’t care. If it wasn’t you, it was one of your brothers. And y’all deserve to be behind bars.” Anthony’s case went to an all white jury where he was sentenced to death, and then spent 30 years on death row.
You might be thinking, okay well then I now know the whole story. But truly, that isn’t even the half of it. His attitude, and the way that he spent his time on death row is truly remarkable. Talk about perspective. If you feel like things aren’t going your way in life, go ahead and read this book. You will be grateful for rain on your face for the freedom to use a fork. That’s how I felt the entire time I listened to this book. I am amazed at his decision to be free in his mind for those 30 years. His life was wrongfully taken from him. And I hope that he never suffers another moment. I’d like to meet him. To buy him lunch. I only live two hours away. I wonder if that could be arranged
Anthony was a clearly innocent black man in the 80’s wrongly accused of murder. On the day he was arrested, one of the officers there to arrest him said “honestly, I believe you didn’t do it. But I don’t care. If it wasn’t you, it was one of your brothers. And y’all deserve to be behind bars.” Anthony’s case went to an all white jury where he was sentenced to death, and then spent 30 years on death row.
You might be thinking, okay well then I now know the whole story. But truly, that isn’t even the half of it. His attitude, and the way that he spent his time on death row is truly remarkable. Talk about perspective. If you feel like things aren’t going your way in life, go ahead and read this book. You will be grateful for rain on your face for the freedom to use a fork. That’s how I felt the entire time I listened to this book. I am amazed at his decision to be free in his mind for those 30 years. His life was wrongfully taken from him. And I hope that he never suffers another moment. I’d like to meet him. To buy him lunch. I only live two hours away. I wonder if that could be arranged
heidibrandon1001's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0