Former boxer, advocate Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter dead at 76
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the former professional boxer who became known more for his work outside the ring - as an advocate for human rights in light of a wrongful triple murder conviction that cost him 19 years in prison - passed away Sunday in Toronto after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.
He was 76 years old.
Carter, whose time behind bars stemmed from being wrongly convicted of fatally shooting two men and a woman in New Jersey in 1966, had his struggle for exoneration popularized by both a Bob Dylan song ("Hurricane") and a Hollywood film featuring Denzel Washington ("The Hurricane").
His incarceration put an abrupt end to what was a promising career in the ring.
After scoring knockout victories in 11 of his first 15 bouts, Carter, a middleweight, would eventually rise to No. 10 in the The Ring Magazine's world rankings. He did get a title shot in 1964, losing a 15-round decision to champion Joey Giardello.
But it was his valiant fight outside of the ring that garnered well-deserved admiration.
Per the CBC, Carter's herculean efforts to help those who suffered from the same plight as he did extended right until his final days.
In a recent letter in the New York Daily News printed in February, Carter said he was on his deathbed, but that his "final wish" was for Brooklyn's district attorney to grant a hearing to David McCallum, a man who has been imprisoned for 28 years for a murder Carter said he didn't commit.
Carter was released from prison in 1988 after he and numerous others worked to prove his innocence - his autobiography, written while in jail, helped pave the way for assistance from a Canadian teenager who helped to discover improprieties in the original murder case.
According to the CBC, Carter was cremated Sunday, and "no funeral or memorial service has been planned."