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Anthony Ray Hinton
Bryan Stevenson, a Black man, is Ray’s last (and best) lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). After Ray fires Perhacs, Bryan sends Santha and then Alan to help Ray with his case. Eventually, however, Bryan takes over Ray’s case himself. He works tirelessly for Ray over the years, trying to find every avenue with which to appeal his case. Ray immediately recognizes Bryan’s compassion, and the two become friends over the many visits that Bryan pays to Ray. Bryan also represents many of the other inmates on death row; he is adamant in his fight against discrimination in the criminal justice system. Like Ray, Bryan lays out arguments for why the death penalty should be abolished: primarily, that innocent people often land on death row because of the inadequate defense they receive in their initial trials. He also argues that every person is worthy of life, regardless of the crimes that they have committed. Bryan is a beacon of light for Ray, but Ray also acknowledges that Bryan’s work weighs heavily on him, and Ray tries to support Bryan in return. Bryan works on Ray’s case for 15 years, hiring new ballistics experts for Ray’s case, filing numerous petitions and appeals, and ultimately taking it to the Supreme Court and winning, getting all charges dropped against Ray. When Ray is released from prison, Bryan is with him, and Ray pays back the support and kindness Bryan has shown him by working at EJI several days a week and fighting against the death penalty alongside Bryan.
Bryan Stevenson Quotes in The Sun Does Shine
The The Sun Does Shine quotes below are all either spoken by Bryan Stevenson or refer to Bryan Stevenson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 18 Quotes
Some days, I could see he was tired, and I wondered about the wear on a person when so many lives depend on what you do each day. He carried a big burden, and it wasn’t just mine. He spoke of justice and of mercy and of a system that was so broken it locked up children and the mentally ill and the innocent. “No one is beyond redemption,” he would say. No one is undeserving of their own life or their own potential to change. He had such compassion for victims and for perpetrators, and an intolerance and even anger for those in power who abused that power.
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Chapter 20 Quotes
Alabama’s death penalty is a lie. It is a perverse monument to inequality, to how some lives matter and others do not. It is a violent example of how we protect and value the rich and abandon and devalue the poor. It is a grim, disturbing shadow cast by the legacy of racial apartheid used to condemn the disfavored among us. It’s the symbol elected officials hold up to strengthen their tough-on-crime reputations while distracting us from the causes of violence. The death penalty is an enemy of grace, redemption and all who value life and recognize that each person is more than their worst act.
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Chapter 23 Quotes
I felt a flash of fear, and then I thought about the guys on the row. They would be watching the news. They would be seeing my release. […]
I closed my eyes, and I lifted my face to the sky. I said a prayer for my mama. I thanked God. I opened my eyes, and I looked at the cameras. There had been so much darkness for so long. So many dark days and dark nights. But no more. I had lived in a place where the sun refused to shine. Not anymore. Not ever again.
“The sun does shine,” I said, and then I looked at both Lester and Bryan—two men who had saved me—each in their own way. “The sun does shine,” I said again.
And then the tears began to fall.
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Bryan Stevenson Character Timeline in The Sun Does Shine
The timeline below shows where the character Bryan Stevenson appears in The Sun Does Shine. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
...to other inmates talk about their own appeals. They constantly talk about a man named Bryan Stevenson, who sends lawyers to help many of the inmates, but Ray largely ignores their...
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Chapter 10
...execute Herbert Richardson, a Vietnam veteran. Ray finds out later that a young attorney named Bryan Stevenson sat with Herb all day and stayed with him through the end.
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...call him Ray. He then asks who sent her, and she replies that it was Bryan Stevenson.
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Chapter 13
...In addition, Santha says she can’t represent Ray anymore because of a new job, but Bryan Stevenson will send another lawyer.
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Chapter 17
...and fears getting an execution date without representation. Ray decides to write a letter to Bryan Stevenson, thanking him for sending Alan but asking if Bryan could be his lawyer instead....
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Ray decides to call Bryan’s foundation—the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Bryan answers, and Ray informs Bryan that he fired Alan....
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Bryan apologizes that Alan asked Ray for money, and he asks Ray to tell him his...
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Bryan also tells Ray that they are a team, and he wants to hear any ideas...
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Chapter 18
Ray talks to his mom about Bryan, explaining that the lawyer is going to come see her. Ray’s mom wants him to...
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After Bryan starts the case summary, he returns to Holman on a regular basis. He and Ray...
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The case summary that Bryan prepares is almost 200 pages long, and Ray is glad that Bryan wants him to...
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Bryan finds two ballistics experts from Texas and another from the FBI—three unimpeachable white men who...
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Three years later, in February 2002, Bryan sends another letter to Ray explaining that the chief deputy district attorney in Jefferson County...
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Bryan also sends his memo for the hearing to Ray, in which he presents the evidence...
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Chapter 19
...important than the two or three days of the attorney general’s time. After this statement, Bryan writes to Ray, assuring him that Judge Garrett is very suspicious that the state seems...
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Judge Garrett notes that the experts’ testimony might just be a difference of opinion, but Bryan argues that these experts are unimpeachable. The Assistant Attorney General then claims that Payne was...
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Through the summer of 2002, Ray and Bryan wait for a ruling from Judge Garrett. When Lester visits one day, Ray is confident...
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Chapter 20
About a year after Ray’s mom’s death in 2002, Ray receives a letter from Bryan. Bryan explains that Judge Garrett is going to retire, but the judge intends to keep...
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...changed the margins), wasting two and a half years of Ray’s life for no reason. Bryan writes that he will file a motion objecting to the ruling, and then after 10...
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...publishes a series of articles on the death penalty, with opinion pieces for and against. Bryan writes the piece against the death penalty. He partly tells Ray’s story, being on death...
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Bryan writes that as a nameless Black man, Ray was presumed guilty before his trial, and...
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...a gun if Ray were released. After the hearing (which Ray isn’t allowed to attend), Bryan writes to Ray to explain that the newspaper articles and subsequent letters people are sending...
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In June 2006, Bryan informs Ray that the Court of Criminal Appeals denied their appeal, and now they’re going...
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Chapter 21
...concludes that Judge Garrett thought Payne was competent, but she doesn’t give her own opinion. Bryan says this is better than her agreeing with the state and independently finding Payne competent.
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Ray is growing pessimistic. Since the day that Bryan hoped Ray would spend his last Thanksgiving on death row, 37 men have been executed....
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In 2013, the Alabama Supreme Court finally denies Ray’s appeal. When Bryan calls to tell Ray about the ruling, Bryan worries that he didn’t do enough. Ray...
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The next time Bryan visits, he presents Ray with their options. They can build a case based on Ray’s...
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Chapter 22
Over the next six months, while Bryan is preparing Ray’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ray reflects on the good moments...
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Bryan files Ray’s petition in October 2013, and in February 2014, Ray and Bryan speak on...
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...32 petition. Ray isn’t free yet, but he’s going to have a new trial with Bryan and the three ballistics experts. In the meantime, Ray will be moved out of Holman...
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Chapter 23
On Wednesday, April 1, 2015, while Ray is meeting with one of Bryan’s staff attorneys, the attorney gets a call from Bryan and says that Ray has to...
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When Ray gets Bryan on the phone, Bryan excitedly tells him that the district attorney filed a document without...
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Ray then grows quiet; he doesn’t know how to thank Bryan for all he’s done. Bryan has been by Ray’s side for 15 years and behind...
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On Friday morning, Ray changes into a suit that Bryan brings him. Before Ray walks out to meet his friends and family, Bryan says that...
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Chapter 24
...someone to tell them what he’s doing; and he doesn’t trust anyone except Lester and Bryan.
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A few days a week, Ray works with Bryan at EJI, and he travels around and tells his story. He doesn’t have any retirement...
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