Anthony Ray Hinton, who survived 30 years on death row in Alabama for a crime he didn’t commit, returned to St. Bonaventure University Sunday to speak to seniors profoundly impacted by his visit four years ago.

“When I spoke to you as freshmen, I told you I believed in you,” Hinton said.  “Four years later, here I am. … It is your time to change the world for the better, to do what my generation could not. You are the generation I have been waiting for.”

Hinton first came to St. Bonaventure in the fall of 2015, just seven months after his release from an Alabama prison. He had spent 30 years on death row for two capital murders, despite having an air-tight alibi, passing a lie-detector test, and the bullets used in the crimes not matching the gun taken from his mother’s house.

Only after the intervention of the Equal Justice Initiative in 1999 and 12 more years of litigation was Hinton granted a new trial and eventually exonerated.

Hinton came to campus to represent author Bryan Stevenson, who wrote “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” the 2015-16 All Bonaventure Reads selection.

Hinton urged graduates to take ownership of their futures.

“As we celebrate your achievement, I want you to know at this moment it is your time,” he said. “The time will come for each of you to go out and make a difference. You cannot blame mom and dad, professors, or society. You will have no excuse. It is time to make plans to enhance your life and the lives of others.”

Senior Soquania Henry read the citation to nominate Hinton for his degree, calling him the “inspirational bookends of our journey here at St. Bonaventure University.” Henry and senior Brianna McKnight mustered a petition to ask university officials to consider Hinton as their Commencement speaker.

In all, more than 620 undergraduate and graduate students earned degrees Sunday during St. Bonaventure’s 159^th Commencement Exercises.

Hinton was among three people to receive honorary doctorates Sunday. Dick Kearns, Class of 1972, and Fr. Joseph Nangle, O.F.M., Class of 1954, were also honored.

Kearns is a veteran executive of the insurance industry and served as chief administrative officer of Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland.

A longtime benefactor of the university, Kearns is a former member of the St. Bonaventure Board of Trustees and a recipient of the university’s Gaudete Medal and Alumnus of the Year Award.

Dick and his wife, Maureen, sponsor the annual Kearns Global Business Lecture Series in connection with the School of Business.

Fr. Nangle lives in a unique community at Clare House, the 30-year-old residential community comprising both lay and religious men and women in Washington, D.C. He also serves as an associate pastor for Hispanic ministry at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Arlington, Virginia.

He is treasurer and secretary for the Board of Directors of the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) and is a regional vocation director for the Holy Name Province, Franciscan Vocation Ministry.

Fr. Joe served 12 years as the co-director of Franciscan Mission Service and spent 15 years as a missioner in Bolivia and Peru.

Flavia Pietrobattista, an international studies major from Magliano de’ Marsi, Italy, offered the student address. Pietrobattista is the great-great-great-great-niece of Fr. Pamphilo da Magliano, the university’s first president (1858-1867). She first visited campus in the fall of 2008, when her family was invited to the university’s 150th anniversary celebration.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, we believe in the goodness of every person and in the ability of every person to do extraordinary things.  St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. Named the #2 best college value in the North by U.S. News and World Report, we are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.