For the first time in well over a decade, Darryl Hunt got to tell his side of the story, but not from behind bars.The Student Government Association of Winston-Salem State University hosted a Free At Last! forum for Hunt on Jan.22 at 7 p.m. in Dillard Auditorium. The forum served as an informal, candid environment for the WSSU community to express their support for Hunt while getting their questions about his infamous case answered. Hunt was accused and convicted twice for the 1984 murder of Deborah Sykes. He was released from prison on Dec. 24 after serving nearly 18 years in jail for the murder. The release came as a result of the murder confession made by Willard Brown.On Feb. 6 a hearing was held in which Hunt was exonerated, Now, he’s enrolled in the political science courses at WSSU, many under Dr. Larry Little. Little has been an activist for and supporter of Hunt since the beginning of his trials for murder. Little opened up the forum speaking of the teenage boy he used to play basketball with at the local YMCA. Once he found out about Hunt’s arrest for the murder, he decided to look into the matter.”Nothing I had seen made me feel he was a murderer or a killer, but I didn’t know.”So Little began investigating. What he found led him to believe that Hunt was without a doubt, innocent. When police reports detailed a light-skinned man wearing a spider designed t-shirt, Little immediately went down to the only store in Winston-Salem that sold the shirts at the time.The information he collected proved that Hunt couldn’t have been wearing that shirt on the day of the murder because of the sale date. Plus, Hunt did not fit the description of the killer.That evidence didn’t matter. Hunt spent years in jail until another act of faith served as evidence in his favor. His defense team took a scientific edge on the case using DNA samples to see whether or not Hunt could have committed the murder.Once the DNA was proven a faulty match, Hunt and his supporters were sure that the fight was over. But the evidence simply led to other theories, including that Hunt may have raped Sykes, but did not ejaculate. The evidence was enough to get Hunt out of jail for a couple of months on bond. He then enrolled at WSSU during that period. But it was just for a short while. Despite DNA evidence, the courts continued to insist that Hunt was in some shape or form involved with the brutal murder. Hunt was lead by his faith in the decision to not plead guilty in exchange for his freedom.”First of all I didn’t commit the crime I wasn’t going to plead guilty,” said Hunt. “That’s not to say I don’t enjoy my freedom, but I had to ask myself if I could live with that decision. I could live in prison in peace knowing that I was innocent, and God would take of it.”Hunt also described the challenges of confinement.”There are only two satisfying things you can get. One is your faith in a higher being. The other is getting your mind to take you to another place.”The ‘don’t drop the soap’ phrase is funny, but it’s reality in prison, not just because someone might try to rape you, but they might try to kill you,” Hunt said.Now that he’s home, Hunt says it’s still difficult to erase prison routines from his mind.”I just stood there [at the front door] because I’m so used to the door opening automatically,” Hunt said. “In prison you can’t just reach out and open any door. It’s always opened for you.”Hunt says his wife, April, has been his rock through his trials and tribulations. The two met while Hunt attended WSSU during his first release in 1989. They married in 2000 on a day that the Supreme Court determined that there would be no reversal in Hunt’s conviction decision. “I fell in love with her mind,” said Hunt as his wife was invited to join him at the podium. Now, Hunt studies at WSSU, saying he was always motivated by the thought of young, black students walking to class to get an education. For those who don’t recognize their freedom and purpose, Hunt would say one thing to them — “I’d probably remind them of my last 19 years because if that’s the road they’re traveling [towards destruction], they’re just gonna end up where I left.”