Rubin Carter

Profile

Denzel Washington portrayed professional boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter in Norman Jewison's motion picture Hurricane. In 1966, one fight away from becoming Middleweight Champion of the World, Rubin went on trial for triple murder, was convicted and sentenced to three life terms, beginning his first of 19 years in the New Jersey prison system for a crime he did not commit. In jail he wrote The 16th Round: From Number One Contender to Number 45472, mailing a copy to Bob Dylan, whose song “Hurricane” helped raise global awareness of Rubin's plight. The unlikely passion of 16-year-old Lesra Martin eventually propelled the system into action and Rubin was released in 1985.

Rubin has lectured at both Harvard and Yale law schools and sits on the boards of directors of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, the Alliance for Prison Justice in Boston and the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted in Toronto. He spoke alongside President Nelson Mandela at the first World Reconciliation Day in Australia.

Clients Comments

"Carter is plainly an extraordinarily tough and resilient man, his mind even quicker than his fists." - The Globe and Mail