WASHINGTON — Rubin “Hurricane” Carter has died at age 76. The former boxer is known worldwide because of a wrongful murder conviction.
John Artis, longtime caregiver and friend, said Carter died in his sleep in his Toronto home. Carter, a New Jersey native, suffered from prostate cancer.
He spent 19 years in prison for three murders committed at a tavern in Paterson, N.J. In 1966.
Carter was freed in 1985 when his convictions were set aside after many appeals and strong public advocacy on his behalf.
He was the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s 1975 song, “Hurricane”, also several books and a film starring Denzel Washington.
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