Lisa Simonsen (Photo : Gofundme.com)
A woman from North Carolina started a fundraising movement at Gofundme.com and according to AL.com, she did this to help the newly-released Alabama Death Row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton.
The woman is a native of Huntersville, North Carolina was identified as Lisa Simonsen, a 44-year-old project manager, and the report says that she wanted to give Hinton a new start on his life by starting the campaign. Hinton was released just last week after being in jail for 30 years for two murders he did not commit.
According to Simonsen, she read the news about the case of Hinton and she does not know the man but she admires his faith and his courage for enduring such a long time of being away from his family before being acquitted. Simonsen added in the Gofundme.com page that she hopes people will donate money for Hinton so that he can enjoy his life as a free man.
In an interview with the attorney of Hinton, Bryan Stevenson, he shared that there might be not enough compensation given to his client even if he was wrongly accused. Stevenson shared that they would try to get compensation from the state but there should be a legislature to approve the request and if granted, he could receive US$50,000 for each of the years he was jailed.
Stevenson also said in his statement that the case of Hinton calls on the country for reform as the injustice was motivated by race, poverty, and inadequate legal assistance.
According to CNN, 58-year-old Hinton was involved in the murder of two fast-food owners named John Davidson and Thomas Wayne Vason after a gun was found in his home back in 1985. However, tests last year were done to prove that the revolver owned by Hinton did not match the killings of the two restaurant owners.
