An Evening with Anthony Ray Hinton

Every April, the St. Joe County Public Library launches “One Book, One Michiana,” a program designed to draw the community together over a shared book. This year’s title is Just Mercy, the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller written by civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has focused his career on reforming America’s prison system and has overturned the false convictions of dozens of inmates.

In order to draw attention to Stevenson and his important work, the Community Foundation’s African American Community Fund has approved a grant to the Library to bring Anthony Ray Hinton to our community to speak. Hinton, one of the men whose stories in included in Just Mercy, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder in Alabama in 1985. He knew that he was innocent and believed that he would be released, but the system failed him. He was sentenced to death. But with the help of Bryan Stevenson, Hinton was exonerated and released from Death Row in 2015. His personal story will add a powerful dimension to our community’s discussion of Just Mercy.

This event is free and open to the public. Please join us!