Beyond Innocence: The Life Sentence of Darryl Hunt; A True Story of Race, Wrongful Conviction, and An American Reckoning Still to Come

A deeply reported, grippingnarrative of injustice, exoneration, and the lifelong impact of incarceration, BeyondInnocence is the poignant saga of one remarkable life that shedsvitally important light on the failures of the American justice system at everylevel

In June 1985, a young Black man in Winston-Salem, N.C.named Darryl Hunt was falsely convicted and sentenced to life in prison for therape and murder of a white copyeditor at the local paper. Many in the communitybelieved him innocent and crusaded for his release even as subsequent trialsand appeals reinforced his sentence. Finally, in 2003, the tireless efforts ofhis attorney combined with an award-winning series of articles by PhoebeZerwick in the Winston-Salem Journal led to the DNA evidencethat exonerated Hunt. Three years later, the acclaimed documentary, TheTrials of Darryl Hunt, made him known across the country and broughthis story to audiences around the world.

But Hunt’s story was far fromover. As Zerwick poignantly reveals, it is singularly significant in the annalsof the miscarriage of justice and for the legacy Hunt ultimately bequeathed.Part true crime drama, part chronicle of a life cut short by systemic racism, BeyondInnocence powerfully illuminates the sustained catastrophe faced byan innocent person in prison and the civil death nearly everyone who has beenincarcerated experiences attempting to restart their lives. Freed afternineteen years behind bars, Darryl Hunt became a national advocate for socialjustice, and his case inspired lasting reforms, among them a law that allowsthose on death row to appeal their sentence with evidence of racial bias. Hewas a beacon of hope for so many—until he could no longer bear the burden ofwhat he had endured and took his own life.

Fluidly crafted by a masterjournalist, Beyond Innocence makes an urgent moral call foran American reckoning with the legacies of racism in the criminal justicesystem and the human toll of the carceral state.