Through the vision of Tom and Marla Corts, and provided by their generosity of spirit, Samford is proud to present Anthony Ray Hinton, as the 2019 Tom and Marla Corts Distinguished Author. Mr. Hinton will speak about his personal memoir The Sun Does Shine, How I Found Freedom on Death Row.

In 1985, Hinton was arrested and wrongfully convicted with two counts of capital murder. At the time, he was only twenty-nine years old. A case of mistaken identity placed Hinton in solitude at Holman State Prison where he became confused, angry and full of despair. However, Hinton decided he did not want to wallow in resentment; instead, he began to transform his life and the lives of those around him through humor and joy.

In April of 2015, with the help of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, Hinton was released from Jefferson County Jail after spending 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. In March of 2018, he released his personal memoir The Sun Does Shine, How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. The memoir became an instant New York Times  Best Seller and in June of 2018, Oprah selected The Sun Does Shine for her summer Book Club.