This Friday at 6 PM CST we hope you can join us for a very special Facebook Live conversation with Anthony Ray Hinton. Anthony was wrongfully accused of murdering two fast-food restaurant managers and served 28 years on death row in Alabama before his exoneration. He was played by O’Shea Jackson Jr. in the film “Just Mercy.” The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, follows attorney Brian Stevenson as he fights for the wrongly imprisoned — including Hinton.

Anthony’s case parallels Julius’ in so many ways. He was represented by an inexperienced, overwhelmed and underprepared public defender. He was convicted despite having a strong alibi (Hinton’s boss says he was at work when the murders took place; Julius’ parents say he was at home). In both cases, the state’s charges rested largely on “junk” forensic science that has since been disproven.

Most importantly, they are similar in the ways that the system was designed to protect itself, even in the face of obvious errors. The problems with Anthony’s case were so glaring that when he was finally granted a retrial by the U.S. Supreme Court, a new judge dismissed all charges and let him go free. For decades before that, however, the system ignored new evidence, swept contradictory testimony under the rug, and worked to cover its tracks – at the expense of Anthony’s freedom.

This Friday at 6 PM SCT, Anthony will join us on Facebook to share his thoughts on Julius Jones and what he learned from his long fight for justice. We hope you will join us and, while you’re at it, write an email of support to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Governor Kevin Stitt.

When Anthony was released from prison, one of the first thing he said to reporters and the public was “The sun does shine.” It is our greatest hope that through our activism and advocacy, Julius can have his own moment in the sun, as a free man, with his family.