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tl;dr Review:
One of the best books I have ever read in my life. Full of sorrow and hope, it shines a light on the death penalty that will make you want to take a stand.
Full Review:
I do all this math (which I hate, so you know it’s gotta be for a good reason) because I wanted to prove that when I say this is one of the best books I’ve ever read, that is taking into account a large number of books.
As you can see from my previous reviews, there are books I’ve enjoyed and even loved. There are plenty of books to which I’ll happily give 5 thumbs up to for how well written they are and how amazing the storytelling was in them. But it takes a lot for me to say a book is one of the best I’ve ever read.
This is one of those books.
To be honest, I’d been on a bit of a reading high lately. I’d read some pretty great books (The Flight Attendant, The Red Word, etc). So when I picked this one up to read, I had hoped it would be good, but I wasn’t going to bet the house it’d be a great book either.
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life And Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton (with Lara Love Hardin) is about a man who was unjustly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and how he spent 30 years on death row before he was finally freed.
As a caveat, I’ve been anti-death penalty since law school when I truly learned just how fallible our legal system could be. My focus in law school was primarily on criminal law and issues within our current criminal justice system. I mention this because it’s not that I don’t believe in punishment, I do. And it’s not that I think everyone can be rehabilitated, because I don’t. But I do believe in the words of Sister Helen Prejean:
“The profound moral question about those we condemn to death is not, ‘Do they deserve to die?’ but ‘Do we deserve to kill them?'”
The justice system is run by humans. Humans are inherently fallible. And the system was created by white men who took into account what white men fear and want to punish (don’t believe me? Here’s a piece I wrote on how women get away with murder because of it).
It’s not just who created the system, but also the fact that for every “true” murderer that we condemn to death, there’s a good chance that we’re also condemning someone innocent. One study found that one in every 25 people on death row is likely innocent. The states are supposed to represent the people.; do you want to be represented at the death of an innocent person? Do you want to be a part of a system that puts anyone innocent to death?
I won’t go on my full diatribe against the death penalty further here because that’s for another blog post at another time. But suffice it to say that this book reaffirmed my opposition to it.
It also did so much more: It gave me hope. It gave me peace. It brought me to tears multiple times.
Not only was this book so well written that I could feel the pain and anguish in my heart as Mr. Hinton suffered, but it also shined a light on how much we take for granted. This book reminded me of all that life has to offer, and how I would be selfish and silly not to go out there and do everything I could to make the most of it.
I highlighted and bookmarked the shit out of this book. There were so many passages and parts that crept into my heart or head and took up lodging there. But the quote that stuck with me the most was this:
“Every single one of us wants to matter. We want to our lives and our stories and the choices we made or didn’t make to matter. Death row taught me that it all matters. How we live matters. Do we choose love or do we choose hate? Do we help or do we harm?”
If you want a book that will leave you feeling both committed to a cause, yet uplifted in ways you never thought possible, then I highly recommend reading this book. I even recommend it to people who support the death penalty because I believe this book will have you look at it with new eyes.
In case you couldn’t already tell, I give this book a solid 5 thumbs up.
