Timeline by Iris Cordero

June 1, 1956

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 16:56:19 UTC

Anthony Ray Hinton is born in Alabama.

July 2, 1964

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 17:03:47 UTC

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

March 7, 1965

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 17:14:22 UTC

A group of 600 peaceful protesters attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, but were violently attacked by police at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

April 4, 1968

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 17:19:22 UTC

Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

September 4, 1957

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 17:25:01 UTC

The NAACP recruited nine Black students to integrate Little Rock Central High School, leading to a major crisis when Arkansas Governor Orval Faubas used the National Guard to prevent their entry. President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in paratroopers to enforce integration.

November 2, 1983

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-14 17:28:43 UTC

President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr., which was first celebrated in 1986.

September 17, 1986

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 16:30:59 UTC

Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of two fast food restaurant managers on September 17, 1986.

September 22, 2002

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 16:49:17 UTC

Ray’s mom dies from cancer on September 22, 2002, while Ray is in prison.

April 3, 2015

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 16:50:46 UTC

On April 3, 2015, Hinton was released from prison after the state overturned his conviction and dropped all charges against him.

August 28, 1987

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:00:08 UTC

For the first time Hinton heard the sound of a generator kicking on and then hissing and popping and the lights in the hall outside of his cell. It was Wayne Ritter getting executed and his burned flesh smelled across the jail.

November 13, 1989

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:01:46 UTC

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Anthony Ray Hinton's petition.

April 23, 1991

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:03:45 UTC

Hinton's hearing was set for April 23, 1991 , but at the beginning of the month he received a note that the hearing was postponed.

October 21, 2006

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:05:09 UTC

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

June 2, 2013

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:22:12 UTC

My little brother Nicolas was born.

January 12, 2025

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 17:26:55 UTC

My parents sold my first car.

March 22, 2024

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 18:09:32 UTC

I went to my junior prom.

September 15, 2024

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 18:33:04 UTC

I overcame my driving anxiety and drove me and my family 3 hours from Georgia to Alabama.

December 30, 2024

iriscordero1021 — 2025-03-17 18:34:46 UTC

Our 9 year old chihuahua passed away.