 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Wrongly convicted, he is not bitterBy BABITA PERSAUD © St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001 TAMPA -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter isn't bitter that he served 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He isn't even bitter he was picked up in 1996 by Toronto police, who had mistaken him for another black man and handcuffed him for half an hour. He's not bitter for one reason: "That would mean they won," Carter told Salon.com in 1999. Carter speaks at 7 tonight at the Special Events Center on the University of South Florida Tampa campus. The event is free and open to the public. Described as a preacher-like speaker, he talks of one race -- the human race -- acceptance and forgiveness, his publicists say. In 1966, he was the No. 1 contender for the middle weight boxing crown with 20 knockouts, eight in the first round. Then, on June 17 that year, three white patrons were shot and killed in a gritty bar in Paterson, N.J., Carter's hometown. Yes, Carter was there that night. Yes, he and John Artis, who was taking him home, were in a white car. No, he did not commit the crime, he told police. He was arrested. Carter claimed a comment he made off-handedly to a Saturday Evening Post reporter in 1964 ticked off the police: "Get guns and go up there and get us some of those police. I know I can get four or five before they get me." A jury convicted him, with testimony coming from two ex-convicts who later recanted. "There's no doubt Carter was framed," one of them, Alfred Bello, told the New York Times. A state judge denied his appeal; Carter claimed racism and wrote The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to #45472 while at Rahway State Prison. In its introduction, these words: "Now the only chance I have is appealing directly to you, the people ... for the first time in my entire existence, I'm saying that I need some help." Bob Dylan read the book. "I realized that this man's philosophy and my philosophy were running down the same road," Dylan reportedly said at the time. His song about Carter drew national attention to the case. A Brooklyn teenager, Lesra Martin, and his three Canadian guardians also read the book and began the process that later earned Carter his freedom. He was released in 1985. A 1999 movie starring Denzel Washington retold Carter's story. One line in the movie, uttered by Washington: "Hate got me in here, and love got me out." Carter, 63, now lives in Toronto. He is on the board of several prison justice associations and speaks regularly at law schools and colleges. His talk at USF is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board and the Diversity Celebrations Committee. Carter is being paid $13,000 from student fees. - Babita Persaud can be reached at (813) 226-3322 or persaud@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
