Wilson Miracle League opens new field in memory of Cannon Hinnant

About 400 people, including the family of Cannon Hinnant, attended the grand opening of the new baseball field in Wilson on Thursday afternoon.

This was a huge effort by different groups in the city, and to see the lights finally come on was a homerun feeling.

Cannon Hinnant Field hosted its first baseball game, where kids like Liam got their chance to bat.

"I think it's awesome," Liam said.

An honorary one-inning game was played after the dedication ceremony at the grand opening.

"We've been to a lot of baseball games but haven't had the chance to actually play, so it's pretty awesome for him." Cathy Fess said.

The turf is special, like those who get to play on it. It's ADA-accessible.

David Lee, parks and rec director for the city of Wilson, says that a playground surface should be firm enough to support wheelchairs, but not so firm that children could get hurt if they fall.

However a place filled with so much joy came together from a place of pain.

The name on the scoreboard, Cannon Hinnant, belongs to a 5-year-old boy who was tragically shot and killed while riding his bike in 2020.

Hinnant loved playing outdoors, so his mother, Bonny Parker, was motivated to start fundraising for the field.

"To know that I could give back to Wilson County and families, it was an honor to do that," Parker said.

The Wilson community raised over $1 million to build a new Miracle League field in honor of Hinnant.

"To see these sweet children running around just to get on this field and have a good time, it is justly called miracle field," Mayor Carlton Stevens said.

Hinnant's family keeps swinging because they want to create a place where kids can enjoy their childhood.

That's something that Hinnant didn't get to do.

The Wilson parks and rec director said the full impact of this field won't be visible for several years.

Miracle League games will be played at the field weekly.

Murder of Cannon Hinnant

Darius Sessoms agreed to an Alford plea in the first-degree murder of 5-year-old Hinnant.

Family members said Hinnant was riding his bike outside his father's house on Archers Road when he was shot in the head. According to his mother, the boy's two sisters, ages 8 and 7, saw their brother get shot.

Hinnant was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where he died.

Doris Lybrand, who witnessed the shooting, said she saw Sessoms run up to Cannon and put the gun near his head before running back to his own house.

Austin Hinnant, the father said there was no "bad blood" between him and his neighbor Sessoms, before the shooting, and it is still unclear why killing happened.

A judge sentenced the 28-year-old Sessoms to life in prison without possible parole at the Wilson County Courthouse. The plea allows Sessoms to avoid the death penalty.

August 2020 shooting that devastated a family and shook the town of Wilson.