Hurricane
: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
by James S. Hirsch
Here comes the story of the Hurricane: On June 17, 1966, two men entered
the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, and shot four people, killing
three. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a onetime contender for the middleweight
boxing crown, and John Artis, an acquaintance of Carter's, were charged
with the murders. In a highly publicized and racially loaded trial, the
prosecution hinged its case upon the convoluted and contradictory testimonies
of two lifelong criminals, and failed to present any definitive evidence
of Carter and Artis's guilt. Nonetheless, both innocent men were sentenced
to life in prison. Hurricane is a detailed, inspiring account of Carter's
22-year effort to exonerate himself and regain his freedom.
Carter's saga is rich and complicated, and James Hirsch deserves praise
for his balanced treatment. He brings Carter's electrifying and complex
personality alive without unnecessarily lionizing him, masterfully detailing
his transformation from a defiant, intimidating man known for his dangerous
temper and stubborn pride into a enlightened one who defeated despair and
unimaginable injustice. Upon incarceration, Carter refused to behave like
a guilty man--by defying the rules: rejecting prison garb and keeping his
jewelry, shunning prison food, and failing to see a parole officer. His
defiance earned him cruel punishment, but he compelled the rigid, unforgiving
system to come to terms, at least in certain instances.
Though he began an earnest study of the law in order to issue his own
appeals, he could not have won his freedom without the astonishing collective
effort of others. After a 1974 front-page story in The New York Times revealed
his plight, there followed an outpouring of public support that included
celebrity endorsements from, among many others, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson,
and Bob Dylan, who immortalized him in the famous song "Hurricane". Though
all the publicity turned Carter into an icon for a time, ultimately it
was the efforts of a group of enigmatic Canadians and a team of persistent
lawyers that helped Carter achieve justice.
He lost his family, his boxing career, and 22 years of his life, yet
in the end, he refused to allow bitterness to consume him. When the charges
against him were finally dropped in 1988, he spoke at a press conference:
If I have learned nothing else in life, I've learned that bitterness
only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness
to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever, would be to allow those
who imprisoned me to take even more than the twenty-two years they've already
taken. Now, that would make me an accomplice to their crime...
He emerged from the fight of his life with his dignity and humanity intact.
--Shawn
Carkonen - Amazon.com
Paperback from Mariner Books
Book Published: September, 2000
Rubin
"Hurricane" Carter and the American Justice System
by Paul B. Wice
Hardcover from Rutgers University Press
Book Published: September, 2000
The
Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472
by Rubin Carter
Book Description: On May 26, 1967, the spiraling career of Rubin "Hurricane"
Carter, then the top contender for the world middleweight boxing crown,
came to a shuddering and tragic halt: he and a young fan were found guilty
of murder of three white people in a New Jersey bar. The nightmare knew
no bounds as Carter traded his superstar status for a prison number and
the concrete walls of some of America's most horrific institutions. Originally
published as an attempt by Carter to set the record straight and force
a new trial, The Sixteenth Round is timeless. It is an eye-opening portrait
of growing up black in America, a scathing indictment of the prison system
Carter grew up in and out of, and a mesmerizing re-creation of his furious
battles in the ring and in the courtroom set against the backdrop of the
turbulent sixties. The liveliness of Carter's street language, its power
and ironic humor, makes this an eloquent, soul-stirring account of a remarkable
life not soon to be forgotten.
Paperback from Penguin Books Canada Ltd
Book Published: July, 2003
Special Order
Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
by Sam Chaiton, Terry Swinton, Terence Swinton
Paperback from Griffin Trade Paperback
Book Published: January, 1900
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