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January 05, 2000

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was one of the most dynamic prizefighters in boxing’s golden era. From 1961 to 1966, the middleweight posted a record of 28 wins, 11 losses and a draw. But all of that came to an abrupt end when Carter was arrested for triple murder in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Although he asserted his innocence, the African American boxer was wrongfully convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

In 1974, Carter wrote his autobiography from prison, “The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472.” Two years later, the New Jersey State Supreme Court overturned his conviction on the grounds that the authorities withheld material evidence from the defense. But he was convicted again in a second trial in 1976. In 1985 that conviction was overturned by a U.S. District Court judge, who concluded that the state made an unconstitutional appeal to racial prejudice. In 1988, the Passaic New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office dropped all charges against Carter.

While in prison, Carter was fiercely outspoken, refusing to subject himself to its regimens. He shunned the prison’s food, insisted on keeping his gold watch, and refused wear prison-issued clothes. He was not only robbed of his freedom, but of his wife (whom he divorced to lessen her share of his torment) and of his eye (which he lost in a botched prison operation).

Now, a new book “Hurricane: the Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter” and a movie called “The Hurricane” starring Denzel Washington have propelled Carter to the center stage once again.

He lives in Toronto, where he is the executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted.

Guests:

  • Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.
  • James S. Hirsch, author of Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter is a former staff writer for the for the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
  • Leon Friedman, Joseph Kushner Distinguished Professor of Civil Liberties Law at Hofstra Law School, and attorney for Rubin Hurricane Carter.

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