Darryl Hunt, who was exonerated of the rape and murder of Winston-Salem newspaper editor Deborah Sykes in 2003 after spending 19 years in prison, addresses hundreds of marchers during the fifth annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street march and rally in downtown Raleigh on Saturday. (photo by Keith T. Barber)
Darryl Hunt, founder of the Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice, encouraged the hundreds of marchers who participated in the fifth annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street to fight for equal protection under the law. Hunt, whose nonprofit provides assistance to individuals who have been wrongfully imprisoned, said the Racial Justice Act has recently come under attack. The law, passed by the NC General Assembly in 2009, was upheld as constitutional by Superior Court Judge William Z. Wood in a Forsyth County courtroom last week.
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A transcription of Hunt's remarks:
“My name is Darryl Hunt; 19 years I spent in prison for a crime I didn’t commit. I was one vote away from the death penalty. If one person had voted for death penalty, I wouldn’t be standing here today so there is a God.
“We have to continue to fight. In 2009, the [NC] General Assembly enacted the Racial Justice Act as a step to bring integrity back to our system. When the racist tea party forces took over the Republican 2010 campaign strategy, they sent out mailers that lied about the Racial Justice Act, playing on people’s racial prejudices and fears. The mailers pictured death row inmates convicted of rape and murder, told voters that the Racial Justice Act would help them get out of prison, move in next door to a white suburban family and break into their houses. This is an out and out lie.
"Now having tricked their way into the office, the same tea party forces want to repeal the Racial Justice Act. They lied to get elected. Now they are trying to lie to attack the Racial Justice Act. We won’t let them get away with it.
"In my hometown, Winston-Salem, NC, just this past week, the Racial Justice Act’s first hearing was in Forsyth County. And to the surprise of some but not to me, because I believe in God, we had a racist courtroom atmosphere that wanted to turn it back on constitutional grounds. But we had a conservative judge, a very conservative judge to rule the Racial Justice Act was constitutional. So we won that victory but the fight continues on.
“We have to do this in every courtroom, in every county, in every part of the state to let them know that we will not let the Racial Justice Act be repealed. We will not turn back the clock because if you’re against racial justice, you’re against justice for everybody. If you’re against racial justice, you’re against justice.
"When I left prison in 2003, I promised that I would continue to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. We have to continue to fight; we have a fight on our hands but I believe in looking at the crowd today, I believe and I know that we will win. We have to keep fighting.
"I spent 19 years of my life waiting to prove my innocence, and finally when it came, they wouldn’t even give me an apology. But they couldn’t give me back the 19 years of my life I spent in prison for something I didn’t do.”
“There’s almost 300 DNA exonerees in this country right now that’s been released. We have to continue to fight for justice. We can’t leave these brothers and sisters locked up in prison.”
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