Making Justice Our Business

Making Justice Our Business is the story of Darryl Hunt, and of those drawn to him who refused to give up on him, each other, and justice. Boyd tells the story of how one summer morning in 1985, an attractive, white newspaper editor named Deborah Sykes was raped, brutally stabbed, and murdered in a Southern town. A 911 caller gave a false name--Sammy Mitchell--and the investigation quickly focused on him and his friend, Darryl Hunt, a black nineteen-year-old orphan. Facing public pressure and having a history with Mitchell, a District Attorney won a conviction before an all-white jury, sending Hunt to prison for life. Convinced of his innocence, a handful of people led a community effort to free him that turned into a nineteen-year struggle with a few exhilarating highs, but more discouraging, depressing defeats against an intractable justice system. Their dogged determination led to an improbable series of events in 2003 that broke the case open. This is the story of an extraordinary man told by a white, uneasy participant who came late to the struggle but was transformed by the process. ""Stephen Boyd offers a moving account of the eighteen-year-longnightmare of Darryl Hunt. . . . In the faithful work of extraordinarily ordinaryMuslims, Jews, and Christians, we see the force of divine love that wouldn't quit,and we catch a clear vision of what it takes from all of us to create ahumane societywhere it is easier for us to truly love all our brothers and sisters."" --Sr. Helen Prejean author ofDead Man Walking "" . .. I suggest this book as an important read for every American citizen."" --Maya Angelou author ofI KnowWhy the Caged Bird Sings "" . . . Let this defining volume stand as witness to thefallacy that our justice system reigns supreme; rather, what does is the humanspirit that survives and is joined by others equally committed to telling thetruth. . . . I am left with an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude forDarryl's spirit andProfessor Boyd's tenacity."" --asha bandele author ofThe Prisoner's Wife "" . . .MakingJustice Our Businessis equal parts ringing social critique and personal faithjourney. For Darryl and for all who continue to suffer unjustly, another necessaryblow against the prison industrial complex has been struck."" --Alton B. Pollard III Howard University School of Divinity Stephen Boyd is the John Allen Easley Professor of Religion at Wake Forest University. He is the author of Pilgram Marpeck: His Life and Social Theology (1992) and The Men We Long to Be (1996).