Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Subject of Historic Dylan Song, Dead at 76

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, whose wrongful conviction in a New Jersey murder became the subject of a Denzel Washington film and a Bob Dylan song, has died at his home in Toronto. Carter grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He was an Army boxing champion and later won more than 50...

By Chuck Strouse

April 20, 2014

Audio By Carbonatix

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Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, whose wrongful conviction in a New Jersey murder became the subject of a Denzel Washington film and a Bob Dylan song, has died at his home in Toronto.

Carter grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He was an Army boxing champion and later won more than 50 bouts, most by knockout. But he was imprisoned in a triple murder, spent years in detention, escaped, and was imprisoned again. His conviction was overturned twice, and he was finally freed in 1985.

Bob Dylan wrote one of his finest songs about Carter.

And this Denzel Washington film was immensely popular.

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Chuck Strouse is the former editor in chief of Miami New Times. He has shared two Pulitzer Prizes and won dozens of other awards. He is an honors graduate of Brown University and has worked at newspapers including the Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times.

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