In Chapter 6, “The Whole Truth,” of Anthony Ray Hinton’s book, “The Sun Does Shine,” he begins to understand the reality of his predicament. Arrested and falsely charged with murder following a string of armed robberies, he is ignored by the system.

He had an alibi. He was at work. He had proof. He was also accused of discharging his mother’s gun, a weapon that had not been fired in years. He could prove that, too. And his court-appointed attorney seemed to have little interest in staging a serious defense.

“At my arraignment, he barely looked at me,” Hinton writes. “He was officially assigned my case, and I heard him mumble, ‘I didn’t go to law school to do pro bono work.’”

Yet, his greatest obstacle was the same obstacle so many who are non-white and incarcerated encounter: a lack of resources to manufacture a proper defense. His mother had raised the money for his lie detector test, but the prosecutor blocked his defense attorney from using it as evidence even though he passed the test.

Then, he was told he’d need $15,000 to prove the gun used in the crime wasn’t his mother’s.

There are 6,000 people incarcerated on Rikers Island, the jail in New York that is one of the largest correctional facilities in the world. More than 87 percent of those inmates are in jail awaiting trial, often because they lack the resources to post bail, when available, or hire an attorney that can help them secure their freedom before they go to trial. Nearly half of the inmates released from Rikers Island return within a year.

A legal system that affords those individuals a minimal support system to navigate their respective cases is a problem that sends individuals to jail and prison, multiple times in many cases, without offering them the Constitutional rights American jurisprudence purports to provide for every citizen.

The narrative around mass incarceration suggests there are good people and bad people, and the bad people are the ones in jail. The truth is that many of the people in the American prison system lack the financial resources to properly defend themselves. “Innocent until proven guilty” only matters when you have money, as Hinton’s case shows, and usually when you’re not BIPOC.

Had he been wealthy and white, Hinton might have found himself in a different situation. Instead, the justice system punished him for a crime he had not committed.

We're excited to discuss these issues at our panel event on May 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Pohlad Hall in Minneapolis Central Library.

Moderator

Minister JaNaé Bates (she/her) is a womanist theologian and Fulbright scholar. She has nearly two decades of academic and professional experience in ministry, social justice, politics and communications, including over 7 years as the Communications Director of ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota. Her work has included implementing the “Race Class Gender Narrative” framework and co-creating and co-writing the award-winning animated series MINE.

In 2024, Minister Bates is launching a storytelling coalition called Liberation Aloud and a companion podcast, Recorded and Monitored, along with her husband Dontez, who has been incarcerated for the past 18 years. She is currently the interim Co-Executive Director for Faith in Minnesota and ISAIAH.

Panelists

Marvin Haynes was raised in a loving family of five siblings by his mother and father in North Minneapolis. His childhood was marked by the strong values of love, discipline, and respect. At the age of 16, his life took a tragic turn when he was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of murder. Despite maintaining his innocence, he was sentenced to life in prison and spent 19 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. 

In December 2023, his fight for justice finally paid off when new evidence emerged, leading to Haynes’ exoneration and release. Now a 36-year-old free man, Haynes is determined to advocate for criminal justice reform and support others who are wrongfully convicted.

Moseka Nhya is a recent transplant to the Twin Cities, journeying from Atlanta, Georgia, to join The Legal Revolution Law Firm, a non-profit working to put the keys to the law in the hands of those most impacted by it. As a multicultural, multilingual graduate of Paralegal Studies, she aims to challenge the societal stigma and shame put upon those who are formerly incarcerated. 

As a justice-impacted individual, Moseka's lived experience led to her question:  "What happens when the gates open, but you're still not free."  The realities revealed in reentry fuel her passion to speak out on the harms of institutionalized dehumanization and to join the efforts addressing the innumerable collateral consequences that tempt recidivism for those involved with the criminal legal system.

Kevin Reese, a Minneapolis native, spent 14 years in the criminal justice system and is the founder of the BRIDGE, a grassroots group aiming to abolish mass incarceration. As the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Until We Are All Free Movement, and the CEO of Until We Are All Free Consulting Group, he advocates for transformative criminal justice overhaul. Kevin is also a published and award-winning poet.

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