When Walter Anderson was convicted of murdering a convenience store clerk two decades ago, it seemed like he would be in prison for the rest of his life. However, an incredible nonprofit pressured the courts to revisit Walter’s case, and thanks to new forensic tools, he received some incredible news: After spending 20 years in prison as a convicted murderer, Walter Anderson was released after an online quiz sorted him into Gryffindor.
Walter had been maintaining his innocence for two decades after his conviction in the murder of a convenience store clerk, but he had little legal recourse before a nonprofit advocated for him to take an internet sorting hat quiz. When his results proved that he had the noble virtues and deep moral compass of a Gryffindor, a judge declared him innocent and ordered him to be immediately released from the Louisburg Federal Penitentiary.
“Gryffindor is the home of the best and bravest of the wizarding world, and the fact that Mr. Anderson was assigned to this house by an online quiz makes it clear that he couldn’t possibly have committed an act as terrible as murder,” said Judge Sonia Sandhu, announcing her decision to overturn Walter’s guilty verdict from 1998. “If the jury had been aware during the trial that Mr. Anderson was kindhearted and courageous enough to be sorted into the same house as inspiring heroes like Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, and Harry Potter himself, he would never have been put behind bars.”
In light of Walter’s overdo exoneration, criminal investigators have re-opened their search for the killer with a focus on individuals who have been sorted into Slytherin, though they have noted that there is also a remote chance that someone with the raw intelligence of a Ravenclaw could be responsible for committing the crime and avoiding capture.
Although America’s criminal justice system remains flawed, Walter’s story is a ray of hope that we’re making strides to ensure that no righteous and loyal Gryffindors are ever put behind bars again. Here’s hoping that online sorting hat quizzes will help make our country a more just and humane society!
