Former Boxer Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, Who Was Wrongly Convicted of Murder Dies at age 76 of Prostate Cancer in Toronto, Canada

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the former middleweight boxing contender who spent 19 year in prison after being wrongly convicted of a triple murder, has died in Toronto, Canada at the age of 76 from prostate cancer. John Artis, a longtime friend and caregiver, said Carter died in his sleep Sunday. Rubin Carter spent 19 years in prison for a triple killing at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey before a federal judge ruled in 1985 that he and John Artis, who was with Carter on the night of the shootings. His story was made famous by Denzel Washington in the 1999 movie, ‘The Hurricane’ and  the Bob Dylan’s 1975 song, ‘Hurricane’.  However, truth be known, there was much poetic Hollywood license and fiction in the movie. There was a bit to much of the softening of The Hurricane. But that being said, it does not change the fact that Rubin “Hurricane” Carter had been very wronged by the system. Carter was freed in November 1985 when his convictions were set aside after years of appeals and public advocacy.

Carter, 76, died of complications from prostate cancer, Wahrer said.

“I always remember spending hours and hours with Rubin talking about the wrongful convictions,” she told CNN. “He was a great mentor and teacher. I felt very fortunate to have those times with him. … He lived a very full life.”

Carter spent 19 years in prison for a triple killing in New Jersey before a federal judge ruled in 1985 that he and John Artis, who was with Carter on the night of the shootings, did not receive fair trials and released them.

The Toronto Star: Rubin “Hurricane” Carter dead at 76.

His career as a prized, top middleweight boxer ended abruptly when he was wrongfully convicted of a 1966 triple murder in New Jersey. In 1985 a U.S. judge freed him, ruling that the prosecution had conducted “an appeal to racism rather than reason, concealment rather than disclosure.”

After he was released from prison Carter moved to the Toronto area, where he took up the cause to fight for those who are wrongfully convicted. In 1993 he helped establish the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, a Toronto-based non-profit.

Toronto lawyer James Lockyer, a founding director of the association said Carter “dominated the room with a mixture of power and humour and decisiveness.”

Lockyer said Carter forged close bonds with the wrongfully accused he worked to free, a lengthy list that included Guy Paul Morin, David Milgaard and Steven Truscott.

“He brought such comfort to them and such inspiration to them to carry on the fight,” Lockyer said.

Whenever the association needed an advocate or a speaker, Carter was the natural choice, he said.

And now for a more truthful depiction of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, his career, the events of 1966 at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, the trial and aftermath … from ESPN Sports Century – Rubin Hurricane Carter.

Sports Century – Rubin Hurricane Carter Part 1 of 3

Sports Century – Rubin Hurricane Carter Part 2 of 3

Sports Century – Rubin Hurricane Carter Part 3 of 3