‘Hurricane’ Carter At SHU, March 1

FAIRFIELD — Rubin “Hurricane” Carter will tell his story at Sacred Heart University.

The former middleweight boxer, who was convicted of a triple murder he did not commit, will speak in the University Theatre on Wednesday, March 1, at 7 pm. A book-signing will follow his lecture. General admission is $5.

Millions have learned about Carter’s travails in the new motion picture, The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington. A middleweight contender, Mr Carter was preparing for a world championship fight in 1966 when he and a companion were arrested for a triple murder in New Jersey. Although steadfastly maintaining his innocence, Mr Carter was convicted and sentenced to three life terms, narrowly escaping the death penalty.

In 1974, upon the publication of his autobiography, The 16th Round: From Number 1 to Number 45472, and the recantations of the state’s two key witnesses (criminals who later admitted they had lied at the trial), Mr Carter’s case attracted international attention. He became a civil-rights cause celebre and was immortalized in the Bob Dylan song “Hurricane.”

A new trial ensued, but the injustice was repeated. Mr Carter never gave up, and in 1985 he was released from prison. In February 1988, the 22-year old indictment was officially dismissed. The World Boxing Council later awarded Mr Carter the world championship belt at its 30th convention in Las Vegas.

Today, Mr Carter is a board member of Human Rights (Atlanta), The Alliance for Prison Justice (Boston) and The Association in Defense of the Wrongfully Convicted (Toronto). He has testified before the United States Congress on the need for preserving federal review of state court convictions, and lectured at many universities, including the Yale Law School and Harvard Law School.

For information about the March 1 lecture, contact Grace Lim at 203/365-7614.