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motion or at least not oppose it. He sighed. “We should talk when this is all over. Once you
file your motion, I’ll get back to you about whether I’ll join it. We certainly won’t oppose it.”
A hearing on the motion was set. The State did, in fact, join our motion to dismiss the
charges, and I didn’t expect the final hearing to last more than a few minutes. The night
before, I’d driven down to Minnie’s to get a suit for Walter to wear at the hearing, since he
would finally be able to walk out of court a free man. When I arrived at her house, she gave
me a long hug. It looked like she had been crying and hadn’t slept. We sat down, and she told
me again how happy she was that they were letting him out. But she looked troubled. Finally,
she turned to me.
“Bryan, I think you need to tell him that maybe he shouldn’t come back here. It’s just all
been too much. The stress, the gossip, the lies, everything. He doesn’t deserve what they put
him through, and it will hurt me to my heart the rest of my life what they did to him, and the
rest of us. But I don’t think I can go back to the way things were.”
“Well, you all should talk when he gets home.”
“We want to have everybody over when he gets out. We want to cook some good food, and
everybody will want to celebrate. But after that, maybe he should go to Montgomery with
you.”
I had already talked with Walter about not staying his first few nights in Monroeville, for
security reasons. We had talked about him spending time with family members in Florida
while we monitored the local reaction to his release. But I hadn’t discussed his future with
Minnie.
I kept urging Minnie to talk with Walter when he got home, but it was clear she didn’t have
the heart for that. I drove back to Montgomery, sadly realizing that even as we stood on the
brink of victory and what should have been a glorious release for Walter and his family, this
nightmare would likely never be completely over for him. For the first time I fully reckoned
with the truth that the conviction, the death sentence, and the heartbreak and devastation of
this miscarriage of justice had created permanent injuries.
State, local, and national media outlets were crowded outside the courthouse when I
arrived the next morning. Dozens of Walter’s family members and friends from the
community were there to greet him when he came out. They had made signs and banners,
which surprised me. They were such simple gestures, but I found myself deeply moved. The
signs gave a silent voice to the crowd: “Welcome Home, Johnny D,” “God Never Fails,” “Free
at Last, Thank God Almighty, We Are Free at Last.”
I went down to the jail and brought Walter his suit. I told him that a celebration was
planned at his house after the hearing. The prison had not allowed Walter to bring his
possessions to the courthouse, refusing to acknowledge that he might be released, so we
would have to go back to Holman Prison to get his things before the homecoming at his
house. I also told him that I’d reserved a hotel room for him in Montgomery and that it would
probably be safest to spend the next few nights there.
I reluctantly talked to him about my conversation with Minnie. He seemed surprised and
hurt but didn’t linger on it.
“This is a really happy day for me. Nothing can really spoil getting your freedom back.”
“Well, y’all should talk at some point,” I urged.
I went upstairs to find Tommy Chapman waiting for me in the courtroom. “After we’re