"In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on death row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence, full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but to find a way to live on death row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon, transforming his own spirit and those of his fellow inmates, fifty-four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. He founded a prison book group, which helped its members to talk about their own lives, regrets, and ideas. With the help of Bryan Stevenson, civil rights attorney and author of Just Mercy, Hinton won his release in 2015."--

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence, full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon, transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty-four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and author Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015. Hinton's memoir tells his dramatic thirty-year journey and shows how you can take away a man's freedom, but you can't take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit.

Adapted for young readers, this true story follows a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit and how he transformed not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, until his release in 2015. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. It was a case of mistaken identity, and Hinton believed that the truth would prove his innocence. He spent his first three years at Holman State Prison full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. For the next twenty-seven years he transformed not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates. Winning his release in 2015, Hinton shares his story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. -- adapted from jacket