Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who was probably more well known for his fight behind bars than any fight he had in the ring, has died today at the age of 76. From Yahoo:
He had been stricken with prostate cancer in Toronto, the New Jersey native’s adopted home. John Artis, a longtime friend and caregiver, said Carter died in his sleep.
Carter spent 19 years in prison for three murders at a tavern in Paterson, N.J., in 1966. He was convicted alongside Artis in 1967 and again in a new trial in 1976.
Carter was freed in November 1985 when his convictions were set aside after years of appeals and public advocacy. His ordeal and the alleged racial motivations behind it were publicized in Bob Dylan’s 1975 song “Hurricane,” several books and a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington, who received an Academy Award nomination for playing the boxer turned prisoner.
Carter’s story was one that caught my interest a few years back and I pretty much sought out any information that I could at the time. It’d be interesting to see how the series of events would’ve played out today with the inclusion of the Internet.
I’ve included the only version of Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane” that I could find online because it seems like the recording has been scrubbed thanks to copyright or whatever. But it’s still better than some cover. Rest in peace, sir.
(Via Yahoo / AP)
