Brain Droppings: On Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

I caught Rubin "Hurricane" Carter on "Tavis Smiley" the other day, promoting his newest book Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness To Freedom. Of course, most people know Carter as the former #1 contender for the middle weight crown who in the 60's was accused of murder in Paterson, NJ. He was convicted and, eventually, sentenced to life in prison. He served 19 years in the Clinton Correctional Facility, during which time his cause became internationally known and was even immortalized in a song by Bob Dylan and a film starring Denzel Washington. He continually and steadfastly maintained his innocence, refusing to even wear prison garb or eat prison food during the entire tenure of his incarceration. His plight was picked up by many well known celebrities and athletes like Muhammad Ali who, along with Carter's own efforts from his prison cell, eventually won him his freedom (but, interestingly, not his exoneration).

The first thing I noticed was how small Carter really is. Because of the ferocity of his fighting style, it's easy to overlook the fact that in his prime, Carter weighed around 160 pounds (the middleweight division) and is not very tall. In fact, during the show, "2 shots" of Carter and host Smiley highlighted the discrepancy in size; Smiley towered over Carter.

I was also greatly impressed by what Carter had to say, and HOW he said it. Although his style of speaking bears traces of his time on the streets and in prison, he speaks WELL. His lexicon is excellent and his phrasing concise and on-point. He has an economy of words and, yet, he is not brief. He made his points eloquently and with passion. And he had ENORMOUS insight into not only our Prison system, but our Justice System as well. And, most importantly, he did so with no apparent bitterness. He spoke honestly, intelligently, and with wit and good humor. Considering that this man was brutalized by the system, this is no easy task. He pulled no punches (especially for his feelings on his home state of New Jersey!) when discussing the roles that poverty and race play in our society. Again, he did so without the bitterness one would expect from someone who was exposed to such degradation for most of his life.

It should also be noted that he is not "get out of jail free" crusader. He believes that there are bad people in prison who most definitely belong there. His passion, and now his life, is dedicated to freeing those, who like himself, are suffering the pain and indignity of false imprisonment.

I have always appreciated the stand that Carter took during his own incarceration. He became kind of a folk hero to me (I was in college when most of his story went down). Seeing him now, how focused and POSITIVE he is in his own life, reaffirms what I knew from the beginning: Rubin Carter is a man worthy of our admiration and respect.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not everyone is convinced of Carter's innocence. Remember, he was conficted in 2 separate trials and was released on procedural issues. He has never been declared innocent. While doing research for this essay, I came upon this website. It provides a compelling argument for Carter's guilt: www.graphicwitness.com/carter

It's very complete and worth taking a look at.

And here's another that lobbies for his innocence. It is also thorough and well researched: www.answers.com/topic/rubin-carter

I would love to here your thoughts on the case! :)

Rubin Carter photo courtesy of Graphic Witness