Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter

 

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

19

Year Crime:

1966

Year Convicted:

1966

Year Cleared:

1988

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Jersey

County or Region of Crime:

Passaic

City of Crime:

Paterson

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Rubin Carter was the co-defendant of John Artis. The two men were wrongfully convicted twice (1967 and 1976) of a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey due to prosecutorial misconduct and police perjury. The two men had no motive, didn't match the killers' description, they were cleared of being the attackers by two of the victims, and Carter passed a lie detector test. Artis and Carter were sentenced to life in prison. Artis was paroled in 1981 after 15 years of imprisonment. Carter's federal writ of habeas corpus was granted in 1985 by U.S. District Court Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin who, noted in setting aside Carter's conviction that the prosecution had been "predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure." Carter was released in November 1985 after 19 years of imprisonment. After the federal Third Circuit Court of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review Sarokin's ruling, the Passaic County Prosecutor declined to retry them for a third time and the charges were dismissed. Their story is the subject of movie "The Hurricane." "One fight away from becoming the Middleweight Champion of the World, Carter lost everything when he was arrested for the murders. In 1966, he was put on trial for murder even thought he had no motive, didn't match the killers' description, was cleared of being the attacker by two of the victims, and passed a lie detector test." (IPD)"

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecutorial misconduct of concealing potentially exculpatory evidence and police perjury.

Innocence Proved By:

Federal Judge Sorokin granted Carter's writ of habeas corpus in 1985.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

48

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Carter v. Rafferty, 621 F. Supp. 533 (NJ 1985)"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Wrongful Convictions - A Call To Action"

Information Location 2:

http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/cji/innconf02/bio-carterr.htm

Information Source 3:

"Rubin Carter, Wikipedia.org (last visisted 6-9-12)"

Information Location 3:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

""The Sixteenth Round: From Number One Contender to Number 45472, " Rubin "Hurricane" Carter,"

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

The Hurricane (1999)

Comments About Case:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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