9/21/2023 0 Comments Rubin carter american boxer![]() District Court judge who oversaw his release wrote that Carter's prosecution had been "predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure. But many had spoken out on Carter's behalf, including former world boxing champion Muhammad Ali. His ordeal and the alleged racial motivations behind it were publicized in Bob Dylan's 1975 song “Hurricane,'” several books and the 1999 film “Hurricane” starring Denzel Washington, who received an Academy Award nomination for playing the boxer-turned-prisoner.Īccording to Canadian media, Carter, who was from New Jersey, had lived in Toronto since his 1985 prison release, which was aided by a group of Canadian activists. ![]() state of New Jersey.Ĭarter and another man, John Artis, were convicted by an all-white jury, largely on the testimony of two thieves who later recanted their stories. The African-American spent 19 years in prison for the 1966 murders of three white people at a tavern in the eastern U.S. professional boxer Rubin "Hurricane'' Carter has died in his adopted home of Toronto, Canada, from prostate cancer at age 76.Ĭarter's wrongful murder conviction became an international symbol of racial injustice. The audio contained in the tapes has not previously been heard by anyone other than Ken and Rubin Carter.Well-known former U.S. He proclaimed his innocence, and his conviction seemed to be racially. The tapes had been missing for nearly 10 years since author Ken Klonsky recorded a series of conversations with Carter for his book Eye Of The Hurricane: My Path From Darkness To Freedom. The song is about Rubin Hurricane Carter, a champion boxer in prison convicted of a 1966 triple murder in New Jersey. A longer feature piece on the BBC World Service's investigation will then be published at the end of the podcast series. Vicedomini's reaction? "If I ever saw Bob Dylan, I'd spit in his face."Įach week, BBC Sport will publish a new article to coincide with the latest episode of The Hurricane Tapes. That was how he learned how his grandfather, Fred Nauyoks, had died, shot in the head as he was sitting at the bar.Īnd now, one of his favourite musicians was climbing the charts with a song aimed at clearing their names. He was at college in the mid-1970s when he saw a newspaper front cover about Carter and Artis' challenge against their convictions. Tom Vicedomini was just a young boy at the time of the murders. Ron Lipton was a former sparring partner of Carter and a referee ![]() Lipton knew both men, and had he not built bridges between them, Carter's case would almost certainly have struggled to get the kind of celebrity attention, and the retrial, that followed.īut not everyone has happy memories of that time. Carter wrote in his autobiography that Ali disliked him because he was a good friend of one of Ali's rivals, Sonny Liston. He told us about how he helped persuade a reluctant Ali to show support for Carter. While we sit and chat, some of his students watch Ron's career highlights on television, and there's a heavy bag hanging up for them to replicate Carter's most devastating punches. We met him at an upstate New York college, where he now lectures in boxing. Ron Lipton, Carter's former sparring partner, went on to have a successful career refereeing some big fights. Then world heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali (right) and former champ Joe Frazier shake hands ahead of a rally in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1975 It was a young amateur boxer who knew both Carter and Ali - and how much they disliked each other. It captured the imagination so much that Dylan appeared on stage alongside the likes of the iconic Muhammad Ali to protest against Carter's conviction.Īli became so passionate about Carter's case that just a few days after the Thrilla in Manila, when he fought his great enemy Joe Frazier, the two stood united outside Trenton State prison, campaigning for Carter's release.īut it wasn't Dylan that recruited Ali to the cause. The Dylan song was recorded in October 1975, when Carter was about to spend his ninth year behind bars and a celebrity movement had begun to grow around him. Ultimately, without them we would never have come across the case of Carter, Artis and the Lafayette Bar and Grill murders. The movie and song, as great as they are, are littered with errors - not that that stops you enjoying them. It's a powerful protest song, one that sold thousands of copies, and it's more recognisable than the movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington.īut the truth is, if either had got this story even close to correct, there wouldn't have been anything for our series to add.
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