The Hurricane

In this episode, we step into the ring with Norman Jewison’s The Hurricane (1999), the powerful biographical drama starring Denzel Washington as boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. The film tells the story of Carter’s rise in the boxing world, his controversial conviction for a triple murder, and the decades long fight to clear his name. But how much of what actually happened do we see on screen? We break down the real case, examine the evidence that led to Carter’s conviction, and explore the key differences between Hollywood’s version and the historical record. From courtroom drama to allegations of racial bias, we separate fact from fiction and discuss whether The Hurricane accurately captures Carter’s story and one of the most debated wrongful conviction cases in American history.

Primary Source:

• Hirsch, James. Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter. Mariner Books (2000).

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Theme: DARKNESS (feat. EdKara) by Ghost148 

Transcript

Welcome To Criminal Adaptations

Remi 0:10

Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, where we take a look at some of your favorite movies and the true crime stories that inspired them. I'm Remy. I spent over a decade working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, California.

Ashley 0:24

And I'm actually a clinical psychologist and forensic evaluator in the state of Oregon.

SPEAKER_16 0:32

Ladies and gentlemen from the worlds of cinema and crime, it's time for tonight's main event. Introducing first Fighting Out of the Blue Corner, a ruthless reviewer of Hollywood history and feared opponent of historical inaccuracies, the Mattine movie Marler, Rimmy, and Fighting Out of the Red Corner, a specialist in criminal minds, an interpreter of human behavior, the exotic evaluator, Ashley, together, the hosts of Criminal Adaptation.

Remi 1:06

All right, Ashley, are you ready to go toe-to-toe for another episode?

Ashley 1:12

I was born ready, baby.

Remi 1:15

Well then, let's do it. This week's movie is centering around a boxer. There's not a lot of boxing true crime films, but Ashley, do you have a favorite boxing film in general?

Ashley 1:29

I think the only ones I've seen are the Creed series. I mentioned this the other day, but I've never seen Ali. I've never seen the Rocky movies. We did watch that movie Christie with Sidney Sweeney that was surprisingly horrendous, so I gotta give it to Creed.

Remi 1:46

There's probably a few other films that you're just forgetting off of the top of your head. But I do like the Creed movies. The Rocky films were never really my cup of tea. And I have a soft spot for a not well-regarded movie that came out back in the 90s called The Great White Hope, starring Samuel L. Jackson. And if you haven't seen it, I recommend it, but no guarantee that you will actually like it.

Ashley 2:15

There's also Raging Bull.

Remi 2:17

Yes, that is on our list. We will be doing that in the future. However, today the film is based on the life of Reuben Hurricane Carter, who was one of the most famous boxers in America during the 1960s. Now, Ashley, before we decided to do this episode, had you ever heard of the real Reuben Carter?

Ashley 2:41

Never.

Remi 2:42

I hadn't either. I think most people today probably know more about the film's star, Denzel Washington, than they do about Ruben Carter, which is pretty ironic. And I was not really familiar with Carter before the film came out. And after doing the research into this episode, as I am sure you'll agree, Ashley, he has a pretty remarkable, sad, and triumphant story.

Ashley 3:09

Had you ever seen this movie before, Hurricane?

Remi 3:12

I had. I saw it a long time ago. I'm not a big fan of films that center around wrongful imprisonment or overt racism like this film does. And I didn't remember a lot about it going in. But what about you, Ashley? Had you seen the film before?

Ashley 3:32

I had never seen it. I had heard the name a couple times, but I didn't know anything about it other than that it was starring Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington And Casting Choices

Ashley 3:41

because his face is the poster.

Remi 3:43

Well, speaking of Denzel as we have in the past when we covered him in Malcolm X, possibly his greatest performance, that was criminally robbed of an Academy Award. Do you have a favorite Denzel Washington performance, Ashley?

Ashley 3:58

There's so many to choose from, but Remember the Titans has a really, really soft spot in my heart. I love that movie and I love him in it.

Remi 4:09

He has been amazing in basically every film he's been in for the past, what, three decades now? He is a phenomenal actor, one of the best ever living today. And even in films that are kind of cheesy and not great, he brings his A game. When I was really young, I saw him in a trashy sci-fi film called Virtuosity, starring him and Russell Crowe, before Russell Crowe was Russell Crowe. And it is about a computer-generated serial killer who can regenerate himself by eating glass. And Denzel has a robot arm, and the movie is not great, but he is phenomenal in it somehow. So no matter what you put this guy in, he is astounding. And I do have to say that his performance in training day is remarkable. He is so threatening and intimidating, and he just has such a screen presence. I'm always thrilled when he is showing up in a film. Even in Gladiator 2 recently, which wasn't a good film, he was great in it.

Ashley 5:16

I was gonna say, even when he pops up in movies that I don't enjoy, I like his performance. I'm thinking of Gladiator 2, and then the last one he did highest to lowest. Wasn't really the best movie, but he was just fun to watch.

Remi 5:32

He was also in that Cohen brother film, The Tragedy of Macbeth as Macbeth. And again, like we've been saying, not the best film, but man, he is just so, so good.

Ashley 5:46

We could sing his praises all day long, but what about the director of this movie? I don't think

Jewison Deakins And Preproduction Facts

Ashley 5:50

I've heard of this person.

Remi 5:52

Yes, the film's director, Norman Jewison, is probably best known for directing the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck, starring Cher in her first and only Academy Award-winning performance. She was also alongside Nicolas Cage in that film. I've never seen it, and the few scenes I have seen look weird. Have you seen Moonstruck, Ashley?

Ashley 6:16

We tried to put it on not too long ago, and I think we just weren't in the headspace for it. We turned it off after like five or ten minutes.

Remi 6:23

Yeah, I don't think it was what we were expecting, but we have to give it another try someday. However, Jewison also directed a little film called Bogus back in 1996, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Haley Joel Osmond. Now, I'm sure that most people have probably never heard of this movie, but my mom, who was a children's costume designer for many, many years, actually helped out on some of the costumes for that film. So I have a little six degrees of separation to this director.

Ashley 6:59

And we'll be Goldberg and Haley Joel Osman.

Remi 7:01

Alright, Ashley, are you ready to touch gloves, ring the bell, and start round one where we get into the pre-production of The Hurricane?

Ashley 7:13

Oh, am I ever? Let's see who's gonna go down.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

50 years old. I've been locked up for 30 years.

Remi 7:26

The Hurricane is a 1999 biographical sports crime drama directed and produced by Norman Jewison. The film stars Denzel Washington as boxer Reuben Hurricane Carter, and co-stars Vaselius Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Leif Schreiber, John Hanna, Dan Hedea, David Paymer, Vincent Pastor, and Mr. Krabs himself, Clancy Brown. I like money! The screenplay was written by Armion Bernstein and Dan Gordon, and was adapted from Carter's 1974 autobiography, The 16th Round, from Number One Contender to No. 45472, and the 1991 book Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Shaytan and Terry Swinton. Norman Jewison first became interested in making a film about Reuben Carter in 1992. Producer and screenwriter Armion Bernstein secured the rights through Beacon Pictures and began developing the project while assembling financing with music executive Irving Asoff. Jewison originally felt that Carter's story would work better as a television miniseries, allowing more time to cover Carter's rise as one of Boxing's top middleweight contenders, multiple murder trials, nearly 19 years behind bars, and the long legal battle that ultimately cleared his name.

Ashley 8:56

I could definitely see this being a miniseries. There is so much to cover in this, it was really hard to condense it into an episode.

Remi 9:06

And I do feel like there are certain portions of the story that are drastically condensed for pacing reasons in the film. And as a result, I do think this story is better suited for a miniseries than a two-hour film. But despite Jewison's initial concerns, the story was eventually condensed and the project moved forward as a theatrical feature. The Hurricane is often considered the final chapter in Norman Jewison's unofficial trilogy examining racism and injustice in America. The first two films were In the Heat of the Night from 1967, which explored racial tensions in the American South, and A Soldier's Story in 1984, which examined racism within the U.S. Army during World War II. Another key addition to the production was acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakens. Have you heard of Roger Deacons, Ashley?

Ashley 10:02

The name sounds familiar, but I'm really bad with putting names to movies if they're not the director. I think Hans Zimmer is one of the only persons that's not a director or an actor involved in movies that I recognize many, many of his key works.

Remi 10:20

Well, by the time The Hurricane went into production, Deakins had already built an impressive resume with films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Fargo. He served as the film's director of photography, bringing his signature visual style to Ruben Carter's story. Deakins has since become one of Hollywood's most celebrated cinematographers, with later credits including No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Skyfall, Prisoners, Sicario, which we just watched last night, and Blade Runner 2049.

Ashley 10:56

Wow, what an impressive resume.

Remi 10:59

He is probably the most famous cinematographer of all time, hands down. Before Denzel Washington was cast as Reuben Hurricane Carter, several other actors and athletes were reportedly considered for the role, including Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, and former middleweight boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Could you imagine Samuel L. Jackson playing this role, Ashley?

Ashley 11:27

No, I think Denzel was the right choice.

Remi 11:30

According to Carter, Hagler was one of the more serious contenders before Denzel Washington inevitably secured the part. Carter remained heavily involved throughout pre-production and developed a close working relationship with Washington. He later said he knew Washington was the right choice after watching his audition and spending time discussing the role with him. Once cast, Washington immersed himself in preparing for the role, spending extensive time with Carter, studying his speech, mannerisms, personality, and overall outlook on life. Because Carter was alive and actively involved in the production, Washington faced the unusual challenge of portraying someone who could offer immediate feedback on his performance. No pressure, Denzel. He later described the experience as both interesting and intimidating.

Ashley 12:26

Yeah, you didn't have to worry about that when he was playing Malcolm X.

Remi 12:30

Washington also underwent more than a year of boxing training before filming began, focusing primarily on accurately recreating the way Carter fought, from his movement around the ring to the way he threw punches. This proved challenging due to the obvious size difference between the two men. Carter was about 5'8 and fought as a middleweight, while Washington is 6'1 and has a much larger natural frame, more comparable to a heavyweight than a middleweight. Washington also spent time observing Carter's everyday habits and routines to better understand the man behind the boxer. He later recalled that Carter drank pot after pot of coffee and heavily smoked. Carter remained involved throughout the production, serving as a consultant and working closely with Washington, providing firsthand insight into how to portray him. Unlike many sports biopics, the filmmakers were less interested in building the film around boxing matches and more interested in exploring who Reuben Carter was as a person. Washington's preparation therefore emphasized Carter's determination, discipline, and emotional resilience during his years in prison, just as much as his athletic career.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

He was rough. He was a mean, rough individual, you know, and I think he carried that through his first ten or so years in prison. And they put him back in prison. Until he came and and all those people who who were around him who uh uh supported him publicly and otherwise seemed to fade away one after another after another. It's like they grew tired of it. Yeah, the fight's over, you can't win. And it took all of that. Love's gonna bust you out. Love free.

Ashley 14:25

As this story unfolds, both the movie and Ruben Carter's real life story that inspired this movie. I think our listeners are going to come to the conclusion that Denzel Washington really hit the nail on the head here.

Remi 14:40

All right, Ashley. Are you ready to see if Denzel Washington was worth making marvelous Marvin Hagler sit this one out?

Ashley 14:49

Let's get into round two.

Remi 15:02

Our story begins in black and white on December 20th, 1963, inside

The Film’s Story In Brief

Remi 15:07

a jam-packed boxing arena where Reuben Carter, played by Denzel Washington, stands in one corner of the ring as an announcer introduces him as hailing from Patterson, New Jersey, and having won 18 of his previous 21 fights. Not a bad record. Standing across from him in the opposite corner is welterweight champion Emile Griffith, with the two preparing to go toe-to-toe in a non-title bout. The bell rings. But instead of fists flying, we suddenly jump ahead, 10 years, to Trenton State Prison in 1973, where we find Carter, irate and incarcerated, preparing for a different kind of fight as a swarm of corrections officers closes in on his cell. Jumping back to the night of the fight, Carter wastes absolutely no time knocking Griffith down twice in the very first round, before securing a quick TKO victory in just two minutes and 14 seconds as the crowd goes wild. We then cut back to Carter in his cell years later, ready to go to war with the prison guards, until the situation is momentarily diffused by another officer named Lieutenant Jimmy Williams, played by Clancy Brown. Carter explains to Lieutenant Williams that if the guards search his cell, they will inevitably uncover and confiscate his manuscript, one of the few things he has left to live for. Sympathizing with Carter's plight, Lieutenant Williams advises him to hide the manuscript beneath his prison uniform during the shakedown, promising Carter that he won't be strip searched so long as he cooperates. Carter reluctantly agrees, but is clearly at the end of his rope and still overcome with rage over his wrongful conviction.

Ashley 17:01

This scene actually did happen in real life. I left it out from my part. The only difference is this lieutenant offered to actually take the manuscript with him while Carter was taken to an administrative hearing for a disciplinary infraction, and he told Carter he would make sure the manuscript got to wherever he needed it to go.

Remi 17:25

I think that makes even more of a statement. This guy was putting himself on the line. And this scene, Carter is still putting himself on the line here, and they could find the manuscript. But the fact that in reality this guard took it himself and made sure that it was safe and would get back to Carter, that is incredibly admirable. From there, we fade in on the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Patterson, New Jersey, back in 1966, where two unseen men enter the establishment brandishing a shotgun and pistol, then proceed to open fire on everyone inside before swiftly making their getaway. Later that night, Carter and his associate, John Artis, are pulled over by an officer looking for two black men driving a white vehicle. Moments later, several more officers arrive on the scene, surrounding the vehicle, and bring Carter and Artis down to St. Joseph's Hospital. Once there, the two men are brought in to see one of the survivors from the Lafayette assault, barely clinging to life from a bullet wound to the eye, and asked if Carter and John were the same two men who had shot him earlier that evening. Like literally, they have to prop this guy up and he is bleeding from his face, and clearly his sight has been hindered severely. And they're like, Are these the guys? And he's just like, uh, it's crazy that they are even asking this guy to identify them.

Ashley 18:55

They do it because they don't know if this guy is gonna survive. So if they can get a positive identification, even if it's not viewed as the most credible in the moment, it gives them something.

Remi 19:07

Well, after carefully looking the man over, the man shakes his head no, indicating that he did not believe that Carter and Artis were the same culprits he had seen that night. Despite this, another lieutenant named Della Pesca, played by Dan Hedea, presses the man further, insisting that he take another look just to be sure.

SPEAKER_18 19:33

Sir, look closer. Watch him out.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

Shut up!

SPEAKER_11 19:57

Take your black out of the way.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

What the fuck and fucking bitch. You try me. That's just what I'm gonna do.

Ashley 20:13

Wow, there is no love lost between these two now, is there?

Remi 20:17

Yeah, not at all. These two have had a weird rivalry since Carter was just a little boy. We'll get into that more later, but Lieutenant Pesca is a racist, piece of shit, extremely one-dimensional character who has a severe vendetta against Carter, mainly because he's black. Once incarcerated, Carter spends years feverishly working on his manuscript before finally completing it and sending it off to Viking Press, who go on to publish his autobiography under the title The 16th Round, from number one contender to number 45472. Seven years later, up in Toronto, Canada, we are introduced to a man named Sam, played by Leif Schreiber, and a young black man named Lesra, played by Vasilius Shannon, at a public library book sale. While digging through the mountains of books piled high throughout the bins, Lesra comes across a worn old copy of Carter's book and is immediately intrigued. After picking the book up for a mere 25 cents, we learn that Lesra is an underprivileged Afro-American youth from Brooklyn who has come to live in Toronto with Sam and his roommates Terry, played by John Hanna, and Lisa, played by Deborah Cara Unger, a group of Canadian activists who recognized Lesra's academic potential and offered to raise him while acting as his tutors. Now, this is a weird living situation, is it not, Ashley?

Ashley 21:57

It is. They live in a commune. Essentially, Lesra's parents agreed to sign over Guardianship. Because they wanted Lesra to be able to be educated when these Canadians met him in New York. He was 15 and could not read or write.

Remi 22:20

And they just wanted to specifically help this one young man when they came across him, to the point of taking him to Canada and teaching him to read and tutoring him to make sure he gets into school?

Ashley 22:32

Yeah.

Remi 22:34

That is incredibly selfless of them. Maybe it's a Canadian thing that I just don't understand as an American. Lesra goes on to devour Carter's autobiography with great gusto, beginning with Carter's childhood growing up on the mean streets of Patterson, New Jersey. We then flash back to when Carter was just 10 years old, horsing around near some waterfalls with the other neighborhood children, when out of nowhere, a rich, old, creepy white man in a suit starts hitting on one of Carter's friends, and it is really random and exceedingly unsettling. So Lil Carter does what any reasonable 10-year-old would do and chucks a glass beer bottle at the man's head, shattering it into a million pieces and sending the other kids scrambling. Infuriated, the white pedophile grabs Carter and is moments away from throwing him off the cliff when Carter suddenly pulls out a switchblade and begins stabbing the man over and over again until he finally recoils in pain, giving Lil Carter the chance to escape. Unfortunately for Lil Carter, he is arrested for stabbing the white pedophile a week later. Down at the station, he is questioned by Detective Della Pesca, the very same man Carter would later come face to face with at St. Joseph's Hospital the night of his arrest. Despite the arresting officer showing some sympathy towards Lil Carter, due to him being a juvenile, Pesky Lieutenant Pesca shows no sympathy whatsoever towards the young boy, simply because he is black. In Pesky Bella Pesca's version of the events, Carter had attempted to steal a white man's gold watch, then began stabbing him when the innocent white man tried to fight back. Lil Carter is interrogated without a lawyer or legal guardian present, declared a menace to society by the judge, and sentenced to the State Home for Boys in Jamesburg until the age of 21. Carter would later describe James as a place of horror that he would be forever sorry to have known existed. Reading Carter's words brings thoughts of Lesra's own separation from his family back in Brooklyn to live with Sam, Lisa, and Terry in Canada, and we learn that Lesra had been illiterate and that Carter's autobiography would become the very first book Lesra had ever read. Carter eventually escaped from Jamesburg after eight years and joined the United States Army as a paratrooper, where he overcame his stutter and became a prize fighter, eventually going on to become the all-army welterweight champion. Carter later returns to Patterson with a newfound confidence and a chip on his shoulder, where he meets a woman named Mae Thelma, played by Debbie Morgan, whom he describes as the prettiest woman he had ever seen. After spending some time together and slow dancing at a local tavern, Carter walks May home to her parents' house. But just as he is about to leave, he comes face to face with several local police officers who promptly arrest him under orders from Pesky Lieutenant Pesca, who stands nearby, reminding Carter that he still owes him more time.

Ashley 25:56

And this is because he escaped from the juvenile detention. So he does go back to jail for a year to finish that sentence.

Remi 26:06

You are correct. Carter does not PASCO or collect $200. He goes directly to jail. And while incarcerated, Carter teaches himself how to box during the many hours spent alone in his cell, and even manages to get in some bag time down in the gym. Beyond improving his physical condition, Carter also takes it upon himself to read relentlessly during any remaining free time in order to expand his mind and knowledge.

SPEAKER_03 26:35

From that moment on, I decided to take control of my life. I went to school. I began reading W.E.D. Du Bois, Richard Wright. So I gave up all the worthless luxury that most inmates crave. The girly books, bags, cigarettes, the movies, I hated them. In fact, I hated everyone. I didn't even speak English, I spoke hate. And it was verbs with fists. I made up my mind to turn my body into a weapon that would eventually set me free or kill anyone who sought to keep me in prison.

Remi 27:32

Carter is eventually released from prison on September 21st, 1961, vowing upon everything that is holy never to return. Returning to modern-day Canada, Lesra finds himself relating heavily to Carter's story, and over breakfast the following morning, questions whether Sam, Lisa, and Terry only took him in because he was black and they assumed he couldn't make it on his own like Carter had. And I don't really go into it here, but the Canadians just sort of dodge this question. But not long after, they gift Lesra a punching bag following his request for one, clearly inspired by his newfound hero, which in turn leads to Lisa reading Carter's book herself. Cutting back to Carter's story, we learn that he began boxing professionally shortly after getting out of prison. Carter's vicious skills are on full display during a fight against another competitor named Joey Cooper, who gets batted around the ring like a wobbly pinata without putting up much, if any, defense, before eventually being brutally knocked out in the very first round.

Lesra And The Canadians Step In

Ashley 29:12

So are all the boxing scenes in black and white?

Remi 29:15

Yes, all of the boxing scenes in the film are in black and white, but not the other flashback scenes for some reason. And it might be because filling a boxing arena with extras is kind of costly. So it is easier to film it in black and white and have the arena be shrouded in darkness and just add sound effects in to make it seem like there's a lot more people there. So that's why I assume it was done this way. Or it could have been to just capture the feel of old-time boxing when it was being shown in black and white.

Ashley 29:50

I wonder if it could also be reflective of a metaphor, like that was his life before, and now he's so far removed from the boxing legend that he was.

Remi 30:03

I think that's a very interesting perspective. You could be right with that one. And it could also be a racial metaphor as well, that things were in black and white in his memory back then. There's a million ways you could look into this, and there's a lot of different ways you could interpret the film choices in this movie. Carter's knack for fisticuffs garners him considerable success in the ring, which his pesky old pal Lieutenant Pesca finds viscerally vexing. Racial tensions are also reaching a boiling point in Harlem during this time, after a 15-year-old African-American boy named James Powell is shot and killed in broad daylight by a white police officer named Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan in front of more than a dozen witnesses.

Ashley 30:53

God, it is so frustrating that so little has changed in 60 years.

Remi 30:59

It is appalling that this shit is still going on today. As the police were securing the scene, roughly 300 teenagers, most of whom were black, began hurling bottles, cans, and chunks of cement at Gilligan and the other officers. The situation continued to spiral out of control throughout the weekend and into Powell's funeral, eventually culminating in the Harlem Riot of 1964, which lasted several days and left one dead, 118 injured, and 465 arrested. During an interview, Carter is asked why he hadn't joined the riots down in Harlem, to which he impulsively responds that if he had, he would have brought a gun with him and taken out a few racist police officers. When those comments make their way into the local paper, they only serve to further inflame tensions between Carter and the local police department. Late one night, Reuben and May are fast asleep when a brick suddenly comes crashing through their window, jolting both of them awake along with their baby daughter. Carter's next fight is for the middleweight championship against Joey Giardello in Philadelphia on December 14th, 1964. After several rounds, Giardello is left bruised, battered, and bloodied while Carter has barely broken a sweat. In the end, however, the outcome is left in the hands of the judges.

SPEAKER_13 32:30

I've seen a lot of things in my time, but it's taking 35 minutes for these judges to tell us what this woman already knows. It's about the losing room.

Remi 33:19

The film definitely makes it out like Carter should have won this, and the reason he didn't was most likely racist judges. One evening, Carter is out at a lively party when he offers one of his fans, John Artis, the chance to drive him home, which the young man excitedly agrees to. Unfortunately, this just so happens to be the same night that Carter and his chauffeur are pulled over by the Patterson Police Department and taken in to be identified as the shooters from the Lafayette Bar and Grill. They are escorted directly to the scene of the crime, where the only two eyewitnesses from that evening take one look at Carter and his driver before immediately agreeing that they are not the same two men they had seen fleeing the scene earlier. So now three different witnesses are saying that it wasn't them. The plot thickens, however, when we learn that those same witnesses are brought in for further questioning by Pesky Lieutenant Pesca regarding an apparent robbery the two men had been involved in during the time of the attack.

Ashley 34:29

They were burglarizing a warehouse nearby.

Remi 34:32

Rather than inform the men's parole officers, Pesky Pesca offers to forget all about the robbery as long as the witnesses play ball with his version of the events down at the Lafayette Bar and Grill. Concerned for their own well-being, the witnesses agree to Pesky Pesca's terms and officially go on record stating that they had been mistaken earlier and that it was in fact Reuben Carter that they had seen fleeing the scene that night. At the trial, Carter and Artis are found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of James Oliver, Fred Noickis, and Hazel Tannis.

Ashley 35:12

And I want to point out here that Artis is just 20 years old with no criminal history.

Remi 35:18

They didn't say exactly how old he was in the film, but you get the impression that he is a very young man who is just excited to be meeting one of his favorite sports stars.

Ashley 35:30

And in subsequent interviews, Carter had repeatedly said that he really blamed himself that Artis got involved in all of this. He felt very, very guilty.

Remi 35:41

Well, in the film, it's depicted as Carter was going to drive himself home, but Artis was just so excited to meet him that he said, Hey, do you want to give me a ride home? And Artis leapt at the opportunity. It'd be like if LeBron James asked you for a ride home. You would be excited and be like, Hell yeah, I'll give you a ride home. Upon arriving in prison, Carter is thrown into solitary confinement almost immediately after refusing to put on his prison uniform. And in the film, it's depicted as he doesn't want to put on the uniform because it's almost like he's admitting his guilt by doing so, admitting that he is a prisoner now, and he believes he is so not guilty that he shouldn't do any of the things that prisoners do, because he is an innocent man.

Ashley 36:30

That's essentially his mindset.

Remi 36:33

After 90 days in

Chasing Records And Cracking The Timeline

Remi 36:35

the hole, Carter is finally released into general population, where he first meets a guard named Lieutenant Jimmy Williams, who is sympathetic towards Carter and one of the few people willing to treat him with any degree of respect or compassion during this painfully difficult transition. I cannot imagine what would be going through my head if I was in this situation. Carter did nothing wrong, and he is just watching his life disappear before his eyes as he's locked away in a cell. I would go mad.

Ashley 37:12

Yeah, it would be really difficult for me to remain hopeful, especially as years passed and your appeals are denied or rejected.

Remi 37:21

Carter chooses to remain in his cell researching his case while continuing to refuse participation in regular prison activities. Seven years later, Carter is still incarcerated, still pleading his innocence, and still looking for new ways to fight his conviction. Over the following years, Carter's story gains national attention and support after celebrities like Ellen Bernstein, Muhammad Ali, and Bob Dylan begin publicly protesting his imprisonment. And this is when that Bob Dylan hurricane song came out. Behind bars, however, Carter has lost all hope after his latest appeal is denied, on top of already having lost his previous two trials.

Ashley 38:07

And for listeners here, because it sounds like it's not really clearly mentioned in the movie, Remy just said that Carter lost his previous two trials. So the conviction does get thrown out. He does get released for I think about a year or so, but then he gets convicted again, both him and Artis. Is that just completely glossed over in the movie?

Remi 38:31

It is. It jumps into the future, and the next thing we know, Carter is on a payphone talking to someone. I'm assuming it's his attorney, saying that he's been through two trials and really giving us a verbal rundown of everything that happened in the past several years. But no, it does not go into detail on any of that. This is the first time hearing of it, actually, which would make things so much worse. So he literally got like a taste of freedom and then had it snatched away again.

Ashley 39:03

Yeah, and I'll go over this in great detail in my portion, but the second trial was even more difficult for him because the prosecution's theory of the case changed and witness statements changed. There's a lot that the movie just skips over that I think would add a little context, but I get it. They're trying to fit in 20 plus years into a two-hour movie. That's why I think it probably would have been better as a miniseries.

Remi 39:32

During his next visit with May, Carter tells his wife that he is tired of fighting and must finally accept the fact that he will never be a free man again. Despite her tearful pleas for Carter to stay strong, he reluctantly tells May that she must divorce him and begin to move on with her life without him.

Ashley 39:54

And after his second trial, he really does cut off ties with everyone, largely out of shame and humiliation. And I think it would just be hard to try to stay connected to this life that you're not sure if you're ever gonna return to.

Remi 40:12

We then return to present-day Canada, where Lesra has just finished Carter's novel and decides to send a letter letting the hurricane know just how much the book had meant to him. Not long after receiving the boy's letter in prison, Carter writes back, much to Lesra's delight. In the letter, Carter sincerely thanks Lesra for his kind words, inspiring the young man to write back once again, this time asking whether it would be alright if he came to visit him in prison someday. Carter agrees, so Lesra hops on a bus to New Jersey sometime later to meet his new hero in person. Inside the prison walls, Lesra and Carter begin getting to know one another, growing closer over the course of their visit.

SPEAKER_02 40:58

When I started right, let's go with that.

SPEAKER_03 41:12

Every time I sat on the right, I could write above walls. Look out of the walls, all across the store. I could see Dr. Mattel, his telewriting book I could see, Dr. Two. I could see Dr. Yeski, I could see 52 Louis Meals all in. And they would say to me, Bro, what you doing in it? And I'd say, Hey, I know all you guys.

Remi 41:45

And I gotta agree with Carter here. If you are in a situation beyond your control, having some sort of escape in your mind, whether it be through your imagination or writing or reading, is essential to keeping your sanity and keeping going. So I think his words ring very true here. Sometime later, after continuing their friendship as pen pals, Lesra returns for another visit with Carter, this time accompanied by Sam, Lisa, and Terry. The Canadians explain that they believe Carter is innocent and want to help with his next appeal. But Carter is distrustful and reluctant to accept assistance from white people after everything that had happened to him in the past. As tensions begin to rise, the visit comes to an abrupt end, though not before Lesra leaves Carter with a small parting gift. Back in his cell, Carter unwraps the package and discovers a luxuriously soft, cozy-looking hooded bathrobe, reminiscent of something he might have worn back in his boxing days.

Ashley 42:53

And this is an actual gift that the Canadians made for him.

Remi 42:57

Over the following months, Lesra and his adopted Canadian family continue sending Carter gifts, while all four begin corresponding with him individually, earning his trust and nurturing their friendship. One day, a dejected and downtrodden Carter phones Lesra from prison, informing him that he just lost his latest appeal. Deeply disheartened by his latest defeat, Carter writes Lesra and the Canadians a letter letting them know that he plans on fully resigning himself to a life behind bars, and does not wish to continue corresponding any longer. So similar to what happened with his wife years earlier. And in the film it seems like he can't stand the hope that these people are bringing him. Like, people are coming in and he begins thinking about the chance of being free again, just to have it snatched away every time. Mentally he's like, I just don't think I can handle this anymore. Despite this, Carter receives one final letter from Lesra thanking him and saying goodbye, complete with a copy of his high school diploma. And a photograph of his new girlfriend. Sometime later, the Canadians receive an unexpected phone call from Carter raising concerns that he may be contemplating ending his own life. Not long after, Lesra and the Canadians move into an apartment visible from Carter's prison and vow that they will not leave until he is a free man once again.

Ashley 44:29

And their apartment really was that close.

Remi 44:32

Yeah, there's literally a scene where he is on the prison payphone getting a call from them, and they're like, look out the window, and he sees the building and they start flashing the light on and off to indicate that they're there and he can see them and they're not going anywhere. They are staying and they're gonna help him no matter what. Clearly moved by the gesture, Carter agrees to continue fighting and finally allows the kind-hearted Canadians to lend a helping hand in his plight for liberation. In the ensuing days, the courageous Canadians visit Carter's long-term attorneys, Myron Bedlock, played by David Paymer, and Leon Friedman, played by Harris Eulin, in order to obtain the case files. After reviewing over ten boxes of material, the group returns to prison to compare their findings with Carter's own version of the events. According to Carter, he had been at the night spot, attending a lively party around 2.30 a.m. that Thursday morning, and was the first person to leave alongside John Artis, who was also later sentenced to a life of imprisonment. According to police, all hell broke loose at the Lafayette Grille at approximately 2.45 a.m., when two gunmen entered the establishment and opened fire on everyone inside. The police went on to claim that the murders had been racially motivated due to the Lafayette being a whites-only establishment prohibiting black customers. Meanwhile, a witness named Alfred Bellow, played by Vincent Pasteur, who had been acting as a lookout for a burglary taking place across the street outside, as well as two separate neighbors who were never called to testify after the judge throughout the police report, all claimed to have seen two black men fleeing the scene shortly after the commotion. We then see Bellow enter the bar, stepping over the dead and dying bodies scattered across the blood-splattered floor, and proceeds to begin emptying the cash register before being spotted by an upstairs neighbor whom he instructs to go call the police. So not the most reputable witness here.

Ashley 46:46

No, he really, really is not.

Remi 46:48

And to drive the point home, he is played by the same actor who portrayed Big Pussy on the Sopranos. So I think they're trying to indicate that it was someone who had mob ties, but I don't know, he could have just been a low-level criminal. Returning to the present, the Canadians continue their Carter crusade by combing through copious copies of court documents and transcripts, only to discover that many of the witnesses and individuals involved in the original case have long since passed away. One familiar fuckhead who is unfortunately still breathing is our pesky old pal Lieutenant Pesca, who comes face to face with the Canadians to deliver an ominous warning to cease their investigation. As time rolls on, the Canadians remain vigilant, eventually uncovering the diary of Dominic Barbarelli, a private investigator who had excused himself from Carter's second trial. Within its pages, they discover an entry from that time detailing that the original 911 call reporting the crime had actually been placed at 2.28 a.m. while Carter and Artis were still at the night spot, but was later changed to 2.45 a.m. The Canadians are soon able to confirm this information for themselves after obtaining the original phone records from that night, revealing that the call had indeed been placed at 2.28 a.m. before later being altered on the official police report by Pesky Lieutenant Pesca. During Carter's next meeting with Bedlock and Friedman, their client has some harsh words for his reluctant attorneys.

SPEAKER_03 48:37

No, no, no. Listen to me. These people aren't gonna just let that happen. They've made their careers on my case. What are you talking about? I'm talking about lawyers, prosecutors, judges who have moved up the ladder on my blocked back. We don't even know what enemies we have out there in the state. We gotta take it out of New Jersey and we gotta take it to the federal court.

SPEAKER_11 48:57

Ruben, if you go into federal court with new evidence that hasn't been heard in the state court, the judge is gonna throw it out, okay? That is the law. Then we transcend the law.

SPEAKER_03 49:08

We we we get back to humanity. You said it yourself. You said if we take the new evidence before the federal judge, he's gotta look at it before he throws it out, right?

unknown 49:18

Right.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

I believe that once he looks at it, he will have seen the truth. Having seen the truth, he can't turn his back on me.

Ashley 49:26

So essentially what's going on here is Ruben is saying, I'm done with the New Jersey system. They are declining my appeals left and right. Oftentimes, his case is being heard in front of the original judge that convicted him twice, and he wants to go to the federal system where he believes he'll get a fairer shake. But you can't go to the federal system until you exhaust everything you can do at the state level.

Remi 49:54

Why is the same judge allowed to preside over the appeals and retrials and stuff? That seems counterintuitive.

Ashley 50:04

He's not an appellate judge, but any time it's ruled, say successfully, that the circuit court has to review something, it's typically the same judge assigned to the case. It's kind of faulty.

Remi 50:21

Kinda. On November 8th, 1985, Carter's

Film Ending And Missing Context

Remi 50:25

case is finally heard before a New Jersey federal district judge. But despite all of the Canadians' hard work uncovering new evidence, the judge refuses to allow any of it to be presented in court. After the proceedings conclude, Carter addresses the judge directly before he delivers his ruling.

SPEAKER_03 50:48

I was a um prize fight. My job was to take all the hatred and skill that I could muster. And send a man to his destruction. And I did that. But Ruben Hurricane caught her as no murderer. 20 years I was spent locked up in a cage, considered a danger to society. Not treated like a human being, not treated like a person. 15 times a day. Don't turn away from the truth. Don't turn away from your conscience. Please don't ignore the law knowing. Embrace that higher principle for which the law was meant to serve. Justice is obvious.

Ashley 51:57

Very moving, but alas, this did not happen. Federal judges issue their rulings in written format, typically months after a case, and that is what happened here.

Remi 52:12

Oh, so the following scene where the judge delivers his ruling is also made up as well? That's kind of a bummer. This is a really moving speech. In the end, the judge rules that Carter's conviction had been built upon racial prejudice rather than reason and declares Reuben Carter a free man once again.

Ashley 52:33

He also overturned Artis's conviction. By this point, Artis had actually been paroled because he was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentences were set to run concurrently, so he had a chance at parole, while as Carter's were consecutive.

Remi 52:50

Before the closing credits roll, a series of title cards reveal that the state of New Jersey appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court in an effort to have Reuben Carter returned to prison. On January 11, 1988, the Supreme Court denied the State of New Jersey appeal and affirmed Judge Sarakin's decision to set Reuben Carter free. It had taken 22 years. To this day, the real killers have never been found or pursued. Terry, Sam, and Lisa returned to Canada. Reuben Carter joined them there and makes his home in Toronto. He is the executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongfully Convicted. May Thelma and her family still reside in Patterson, New Jersey. She and Ruben remain close friends. John Artis was released from prison and is now living in Virginia, where he counsels youthful offenders. Lesra Martin graduated with honors from the University of Toronto. He completed his master's degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He now practices law in Vancouver. And finally, in 1993, the World Boxing Council awarded Reuben Hurricane Carter the World Middleweight Championship Belt in recognition of his 20-year fight for freedom, an honor never bestowed on any fighter outside of the ring. And that was Norman Jewison's The Hurricane. Do you have any initial thoughts before we dive into the release of this film?

Ashley 54:33

Well, on a light-hearted note, that has to be the longest end credit title card that we have ever encountered.

Remi 54:41

I don't know. Wonderland had a pretty long one, but this was a long one too. And as we have been saying, it's probably because this story is more suited for a miniseries than a two-ish hour film. There is just so much information that seems to be glossed over or skipped over, and I don't think it does the full story justice, in my opinion.

Ashley 55:05

I cannot believe that they just completely skipped over the first time he was exonerated, and then the whole second trial and him going back to prison. That is wild. It seems like they don't even make it clear at all that that happened.

Remi 55:20

I had absolutely no idea that happened until you told me just a little while ago. And it does seem like something pretty important to the story and Carter's mental state that is completely omitted and not even casually mentioned in this film. It is a strange choice, but again, they did it for timing purposes. You can't have this movie be three plus hours, so they cut a few things out to the detriment of the story, in my opinion.

Ashley 55:52

Otherwise, the clips that you showed me, I can understand why this cinematographer is so highly regarded. It looks good, which is kind of surprising for a movie that is almost entirely set in prison, which is not an eye-appeasing environment.

Remi 56:11

Denzel is great in this film, the original score is great in this film, and the cinematography is great in this film. Everything else is questionable. But let's get into the release. The Hurricane premiered on September 17, 1999, at the Toronto

Festival Premiere Release And Awards

Remi 56:31

International Film Festival. Director Norman Jewison brought an unfinished version of the film to the festival, with editing continuing right up until the screening and the version shown still lacking its finalized credits and color correction. Shortly before the lights went down, Jewison admitted to the audience that he was nervous that the splints may fall apart, comically referencing how recently the film had been pieced together from hundreds of edited pieces. Fortunately, the film strip held strong and the screening generated positive early reactions. God, how stressful. I cannot imagine. He must have been having panic attacks in back the entire time, and throughout the whole screening, just ready for the film strip to suddenly rip. Approximately two weeks before the film's North American release, a premiere was held at the Man Village Theater in Los Angeles. Several of the real-life people portrayed in the film attended the event, including Reuben Carter, Lesra Martin, and John Artis. When asked what he thought of Denzel Washington's portrayal of him, Carter joked, I didn't know I was that good looking.

Ashley 57:43

Can you imagine if he was like, ugh, I hate it, what a terrible actor that Washington.

Remi 57:49

We have seen some real life counterparts react that way to their film version, but this is not one of them. I feel like it'd be very hard for you to say something bad about a Denzel Washington performance, especially when he worked with you the entire time and seemingly had everything down. Lesra Martin praised the film as a stupendous depiction of accurate events, while John Artis said he was moved by seeing the story unfold on screen without reliving the pressure he had experienced during the original events. Despite the overwhelmingly positive response, not everyone was thrilled with how they were portrayed on screen. Federal Judge H. Lee Sarakin, whose ruling ultimately helped secure Carter's release, felt Rob Stiegler's portrayal of him was far more dramatic than his real-life personality, joking, I'm a lower key guy. Rather than opening nationwide immediately, Universal Pictures gave the Hurricane a limited theatrical release on December 29th, 1999, before expanding it nationwide on January 14th, 2000. This is a common strategy during awards season, allowing films to qualify for Academy Awards consideration while building critical buzz ahead of a wider release.

Ashley 59:10

Yeah, because if it would have just came out on January 14th, 2000, it wouldn't have been eligible for the 2000 Academy Awards. It would have been eligible for 2001. But typically movies that are released that early get overlooked. They just are forgotten.

Remi 59:27

January is a notorious dumping ground for a lot of films. It's before the summer, it's before award season. So a lot of movies that are trying to be considered for the Academy Awards come out around December, or they have a limited release around that time, so they can qualify and they're fresh in the Academy's mind. If you came out in January and all of the Academy members are voting on the nominees next year, it's going to be pretty hard to remember a movie that came out a year ago. As of 2026, The Hurricane holds an 82% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 114 reviews, with a critical consensus that reads, Thanks in large part to one of Denzel Washington's most powerful on-screen performances, The Hurricane is a moving, inspirational sports drama, even if it takes few risks in telling its story. For a film centered on a decades-old wrongful conviction, The Hurricane performed surprisingly well at the box office. Produced for approximately $50 million, the film earned more than $74 million worldwide. While hardly blockbuster numbers, it was considered a respectable commercial success for an adult-oriented biographical drama. And this would land straight on streaming these days, unfortunately, but probably in miniseries versions, so I guess maybe it would be better. At least longer. Washington's portrayal of Reuben Carter also earned widespread recognition during award season. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the 72nd Academy Awards, and also won Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.

Ashley 1:01:17

Do you know who won that year for Best Actor?

Remi 1:01:21

I do just because we discussed this a little while ago. It was Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, a win that has not aged well at all.

Ashley 1:01:32

No, Washington should have won.

Remi 1:01:34

He really should have. Carter's story is very inspirational, and Denzel just elevates the emotion in every single scene. He's phenomenal in this movie. The movie's just okay, but he is incredible. The film also renewed public interest in Bob Dylan's 1975 song, Hurricane, which had helped bring national attention to Reuben Carter's case decades earlier. For many younger moviegoers, the film served as their first introduction to both Carter's story and the song that helped make him a household name decades later. And that was the case for me. I had never heard of this song until the film came out, and then suddenly it was everywhere. Not all of the attention surrounding

Boxing Backlash And Libel Settlement

Remi 1:02:16

the film was positive, however. The biggest controversy centered on former middleweight champion Joey Giordello. In the film, Giordello's 1964 fight against Carter is portrayed as being influenced by racial bias and corruption, something Giordello strongly denied. Giordello filed a libel lawsuit against the filmmakers, arguing that the film falsely suggested he had benefited from a fixed fight when he had legitimately won the match. Numerous boxing figures publicly supported his position, including referee Robert Polis, who scored the fight 72 to 66 in Giordello's favor. Polis criticized the film's portrayal, saying they portrayed Joey Giordello as an incompetent fighter. I thought it was ludicrous.

Ashley 1:03:05

You know what I think is ludicrous? The fact that this egotistical former boxer decided to even file a lawsuit in the first place. Get over yourself. You were a fighter 60 years ago. This film is not about you.

Remi 1:03:21

And I have to say, what he is alleging the film is saying about the fight is implied. It's not really said outright. We don't see the judges saying or doing anything racist. We never see anyone being paid off. It just is depicted as Carter should have won and he did not. So him alleging that the film is saying that it was based on racial bias or it was based on the fight being fixed, that is not outright stated in the film. It's implied, but not stated.

Ashley 1:03:52

Well, just this whole lawsuit and this guy filing it, like you're just taking away from the message and story that this movie is supposed to give and celebrate. F you get out of here.

Remi 1:04:04

The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court with the filmmakers paying damages and Norman Jewison later acknowledging that Giordello was in fact a great fighter.

Ashley 1:04:15

I am shocked it was even settled at all. This should have been thrown out immediately.

Remi 1:04:21

Well, now that we already know that the film's version of Joey Giordello wasn't entirely accurate, should we get into round three and see how Washington's portrayal of the hurricane measures up to the real Ruben Carter?

Ashley 1:04:36

I'm hydrated, I got my mouth guard in, and a face lathered in petroleum jelly. Let's fight

Carter’s Real Childhood And Army Years

Ashley 1:05:08

Reuben Carter was born in Clifton, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, the fourth of seven children born to Bertha and Lloyd Carter Sr., a hard-working entrepreneur who owned an ice house, window washing business, and bicycle rental shop.

Remi 1:05:27

Wow, he had a lot of different businesses.

Ashley 1:05:29

Lloyd worked hard to provide financial stability for his family while also ruling the household with an iron fist. As a devout Baptist, music, dancing, card games, and singing were strictly forbidden in the home.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:45

One of those households.

Ashley 1:05:47

When Carter was six, the family moved to a racially mixed neighborhood in Patterson, New Jersey. Despite having a supportive family, his stutter made him an easy target for bullies. To make matters worse, his parents believed the old misconception that children stutter because they were lying. So instead of receiving understanding, he was often punished for something he couldn't control. Carter also viewed himself as a protector of his siblings and was never one to shy away from a fight.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:18

So I didn't grow up passive. I was very aggressive, you know, when I grew up. And uh and plus the fact that for the first 18 years of my life on this earth, I couldn't talk. I stuttered badly, very, very badly. And people laughed at me because of it, you know. I didn't know that it was hereditary. My father stuttered, you know, his father studded. I didn't know that. Uh nobody ever told me that. So when people laughed at me, if people made fun of me, the only sound that they hear in reply would be the sound of my fist whistling through the air, you see.

Ashley 1:06:55

As a youngster, Carter began to rebel against his father's rules and authority. He started committing petty crimes, like stealing vegetables from a neighbor's garden and breaking into parking meters for loose change, before eventually becoming the leader of a neighborhood gang called the Apaches.

Remi 1:07:14

How old was he when he started this gang?

Ashley 1:07:17

I'm not sure exactly how old he was when he entered it, but when he was nine, he and his gang raided a downtown marketplace and stole clothing he gave to his younger siblings.

Remi 1:07:29

So he was under 10 years old when he started this gang.

Ashley 1:07:34

When his father discovered his antics, he beat him and called the police. The next day, he was sentenced to two years of probation for petty larceny. Despite their friction, Carter and his father bonded over hunting, horses, and their shared respect for firearms. Years later, his father told him the real reason he was so hard on him growing up. He saw himself in his troubled son and knew how dangerous it could be to be a rebellious black man in America. He hoped he could beat the defiance out of his son before society did. After dropping out of school in the eighth grade, Carter's violent behavior began to escalate. When he was 14 years old, he and three other boys assaulted and robbed a man at a swimming hole.

Remi 1:08:21

This must be the creepy old pedophile in the film. Does it mention anything about this man trying to sexually assault any of these young boys?

Ashley 1:08:32

No, that is not mentioned at all. And this is a good time to note the primary source I used for my research is a book by James Hirsch called Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Reuben Carter. I chose this one because it was published in 2000, so much later than the other two. And the author also interviewed all the main characters that he could in the book and worked with Ruben Carter extensively while completing it.

Remi 1:08:58

It is kind of crazy that that entire scene is just made up and thrown in there because it was very jarring and it really came out of nowhere. But perhaps it was to portray little Carter as more sympathetic.

Ashley 1:09:12

And there was also no stabbing. They did beat him with a broken bottle and stole his watch. After this, Carter was convicted and sent to the Jamesburg State Home for Boys, a juvenile reformatory. Two years later, on July 1st, 1954, he escaped and walked the 40 miles back home. His parents hid him from local authorities and sent him to Philadelphia to stay with relatives. While there, he enlisted in the Army, hoping military service would give him a fresh start and keep him out of jail. After finishing basic training in South Carolina, he moved on to jump school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he trained as a machine gunner with the Parachute Infantry Regiment. While stationed at Augsburg, Germany, he mostly kept to himself until he met a fellow service man named Ali Hassan Muhammad. Muhammad changed Carter's life in several key ways. He encouraged him to enroll in speech classes to address his stutter and introduced him to the boxing team. After just one year, he won the European Light Welterweight Championship. Carter was honorably discharged on May 29, 1956, and set his sights on becoming a professional prize fighter. There was just one problem. The authorities hadn't forgotten about his escape from juvenile detention two years earlier. Just two months after returning home, he was arrested and sent to the Annandale Reformatory for one year to finish his sentence.

Remi 1:10:47

Did it say how they found him? I mean, he had been on the lamb for two years and even served in the army, and they still managed to track him down when he came back.

Ashley 1:10:56

I'm sure they knew he was in the army, but they're not gonna send someone overseas to Germany to bring him back. They're just gonna let him finish his service and get him when he comes home. Upon release, Carter found work at a plastics factory, but struggled to adjust. He started drinking heavily, and after just five weeks as a free man, he robbed and assaulted three people in a single afternoon. He was arrested the following day, pled guilty to robbery and assault, and was sentenced to four years at the Trenton State Prison. And correct me if I'm wrong, is this crime spree, this single-day crime spree, just completely omitted from the movie?

Remi 1:11:37

It is. It seems like a lot of Carter's earlier crimes are omitted in the film version. And in the film, he is portrayed as abstaining from alcohol in basically every scene that he is in. So the alcoholism is also not portrayed at all.

Ashley 1:11:59

Oh yeah, he was not a sober man in his early years. In between disciplinary infractions for fighting and disobedience, Carter once again devoted himself to training as a boxer, convinced it was the only legitimate path out of the disruptive cycle he'd been in since childhood. Shortly after his release from prison in September 1961, Carter met Jimmy Collado, a boxing promoter in New Jersey who gave him his nickname, Hurricane. He quickly became known for his explosive power in the ring and became a fan favorite.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:46

That is the first time the trippet has ever been stopped. It is the biggest victory in the career of Ruben Hurricane Clotter. He was fighting the Wella White champion whose title was not at stake. A left tip sent Amel on the way to Dreamland, and he never quite recovered from it.

Ashley 1:13:05

Before every match, Carter spent six weeks at a training camp in Chatham, New Jersey. He tried to curb his drinking while there, but his restlessness often got the best of him. At night, he typically snuck out to spend the night drinking in the company of women. Amazingly, his performance in the ring rarely suffered. Despite his professional successes, he often found himself in precarious situations. For example, in 1964, he learned his manager mishandled his money, causing him to owe $95,000 in back taxes to the IRS.

Remi 1:13:44

Oof, that is a hefty sum, especially for back in the day.

Ashley 1:13:49

That same year, ahead of an upcoming fight, he gave a newspaper interview speaking out against discrimination and police brutality in predominantly black neighborhoods. This caused tensions between him and law enforcement wherever he went, especially in his hometown. To recoup some of the funds stolen from him by his former manager, Carter accepted an invitation for a fight in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 1965, during the height of apartheid. While there, he was assigned a local guide named Stephen Biko. At the time, Biko was an emerging leader in South Africa's resistance movement. Although the African National Congress was outlawed in 1961, its members continued meeting in secret. Backo took Carter to one of those underground gatherings, exposing him firsthand to the realities of apartheid and the dangers faced by those resisting it. Determined to help, Carter arranged to smuggle weapons to Backo and returned to South Africa in February 1966 with four duppelbags filled with firearms. I have no idea how he did this.

Remi 1:15:01

This is why his story should have been a miniseries. How do you leave this out? This is crazy.

Ashley 1:15:07

Bicko went on to found the Black Consciousness Movement, which emphasized black pride, self-reliance, and psychological liberation under apartheid. But his activism made him a target of the South African government. In 1977, at just 30 years old, he died from massive head injuries after being beaten while in police custody.

Remi 1:15:34

He was beaten to death by the police or the other prisoners?

Ashley 1:15:39

By police. His death sparked international outrage. And in a wild coincidence, a decade later, Denzel Washington portrayed him in the 1987 film Cry Freedom. How wild is that? My mind is blown.

Remi 1:15:56

What are the odds? Seriously. So he has multiple connections to this story. He could have played two parts if it was a miniseries.

Ashley 1:16:04

And this has been added to our list. By the summer of 1966, Reuven Carter was 29 years old and one of the most recognizable figures in Patterson, New Jersey. Although he was married with a two-year-old daughter, he often spent nights at the club in the company of other women. He was well liked but kept everyone at a distance. He also had a reputation for settling disputes with his fists. Over the years, he was arrested at least twice for bar room brawls. He wasn't convicted, but his image as someone with a quick temper who wasn't afraid of confrontation was reinforced. June 16th, 1966 began as any other day. In the afternoon, Carter loaded his white Dodge Polera with boxing equipment as he was planning to leave for training camp in a few days to prepare for a price fight in Argentina. That evening, he ate dinner and watched a televised James Brown concert with his wife and daughter. By 11 p.m., he was drinking in the parking lot of the night spot with some acquaintances. While there, word spread about a murderer a few hours earlier at a bar called the Waltz Inn. Frank Confronty sold the bar to a black man named Roy Holloway and went to collect his final payment. But an argument broke out about how much was owed. Confronti stormed out, only to return moments later with a shotgun. He was promptly arrested for Holloway's murder. Coincidentally, one of the bartenders at the night spot, Eddie Rawls, was Holloway's stepson. Carter offered his condolences and spoke to Rawls for several minutes when he arrived at the club. Around 2 a.m., Carter decided to go to an after-hours club but needed to stop by his house to get more money. Knowing his wife wouldn't want him going back out again, he looked around for someone to accompany him. He spotted 19-year-old John Artis. Unlike Carter, Artis had no criminal record. He was a friendly kid who lost his mother to kidney disease just one month before he graduated high school in 1964. In 1966, he was living with his father, working as a truck driver, and trying to earn a track scholarship to a college in Colorado to avoid the possibility of being drafted into the Vietnam War in the fall. Although the two men only met a few times, Artis agreed to drive Carter on his errand. At approximately 2.40 a.m., the men were pulled over about six blocks away from Carter's house. Unbeknownst to them, a police broadcast had gone out alerting officers to be on the lookout for two black men in a white car who were the suspects in a mass shooting at the Lafayette Bar and Grill.

Remi 1:18:57

I've got to say that's an extremely vague description.

Ashley 1:19:01

The incident involved four shooting victims: James Oliver, Fred Noikis, William Marins, and Hazel Tannis. Oliver and Noickis died instantly, but Marins and Tannis were alive and gave descriptions of their attackers. Two light-skinned tall black men carrying a shotgun and handgun. Marin survived the attack, but Tannis died from a pulmonary embolism four weeks later. The two shootings from that night were just a half a mile away from each other. The first involved a white man killing a black man, and the other involved two black men opening fire on four unsuspecting white victims. Investigators believe the second shooting was an act of retaliation fueled by racial tensions. So not necessarily a shooting based on the bar's policies, but in response to the first one.

Remi 1:19:57

The same night?

Ashley 1:19:59

Yeah, both these shootings happened the same night, like six hours from each other.

Remi 1:20:03

No, I mean the retaliation, it occurred so quickly in this version of the events.

Ashley 1:20:09

And the first shooting isn't even mentioned in the movie, right?

Remi 1:20:12

Nope, not at all.

Ashley 1:20:13

Sergeant Theodore Captor, one of the officers involved in the 240 a.m. traffic stop, had a relatively friendly relationship with Carter and sent the men on their way. After grabbing some extra cash at home, they drove to a few other bars seeking one last nightcap. Around 3 a.m., they were pulled over once again, this time by four or five police cruisers. They followed a convoy to the Lafayette Bar and Grill, the scene of the mass shooting. Neither Carter nor Artis had ever been inside the establishment. While there, their persons and car were searched. There was no physical evidence connecting them to the crime. They were then brought to William Marin's bedside at St. Joseph's Hospital. He shook his head no each time he was asked if they were the men who shot him. Carter and Artis were then taken to police headquarters and questioned for hours. Both denied any involvement in the shooting and gave detailed accounts of their movements that night.

Remi 1:21:15

And there would be tons of witnesses. They came from a party.

Ashley 1:21:19

Alfred Bellow and Patricia Graham, two witnesses who claimed to have seen the suspects fleeing after the shooting, failed to identify Carter or Artis as the culprits. Around 2:30 in the afternoon, Carter agreed to take a polygraph. The examiner concluded he did not participate in the murders, but might know who did. Roughly 16 hours after the second traffic stop, Carter and Artis were released. God, I would be so tired and hungry.

Remi 1:21:50

That's probably the tactic. They're trying to wear you down and get you to just tell them what they want to hear.

Ashley 1:21:57

11 days later, they testified before a grand jury investigating the Lafayette Bar and Girl murders. Lieutenant Vincent

The Murders Investigation And Two Trials

Ashley 1:22:05

de Simone, who I think is your pesky lieutenant in the movie.

Remi 1:22:09

Pesky Lieutenant Pesca.

Ashley 1:22:11

He also testified, informing jurors that both Carter and artist passed their polygraphs and neither matched the descriptions originally provided by eyewitnesses.

Remi 1:22:22

They are not given polygraphs in the film.

Ashley 1:22:26

The grand jury declined to indict anyone. Life returned to normal, at least for a while. In August 1966, Carter lost his fight in Argentina. Unbeknownst to him, it would be the last time he stepped foot in a boxing ring. His final record stood at 28 wins, 11 losses, and one draw. On October 14th, 1966, the night before John Artis' 20th birthday, he was arrested at a store while buying soda and chips. Carter was arrested outside Club La Petite shortly thereafter. Both men actually learned about the reason for their arrests through the jailhouse Grapevine. They were being accused of murder based on the testimony of career criminals Alfred Bellow and Arthur Bradley. On the night of the Lafayette Bar and Girl murders, Bellow and Bradley were burglarizing a nearby warehouse. Police questioned both men immediately after the shootings, but at that time, Bellow couldn't identify the gunman. Now his story had changed. While serving lookout during the burglary, he allegedly saw two black men drive by in a white dodge with what looked like a rifle positioned between one occupant's legs.

Remi 1:23:47

He saw that so clearly in the dead of night in a passing vehicle.

Ashley 1:23:52

And something that comes out later when the Canadians actually are reinvestigating this, they realize that there's no way he could have seen a car drive by based on the position of where he was standing and the parking lot.

Remi 1:24:06

In the movie, they touch on this briefly about how the taillights that Bello reported to have seen did not match the taillights of the car that Carter was in that night.

Ashley 1:24:19

That is also something they discover later. They actually go to junkyards searching for these old cars and find concrete proof that the taillights that are described by witnesses are not the same as the car Carter would have been driving.

Remi 1:24:34

There is a brief scene showing the Canadians at a junkyard looking at the cars. So yeah, it is included in the film.

Ashley 1:24:43

Bello also said he later walked to the grill intending to buy cigarettes, even though he was in the middle of committing a felony. He then heard gunfire and saw Carter and Artis emerge from the bar laughing. Bradley also claimed to have seen Carter running down the street immediately after the shooting. Both men said they didn't come forward sooner out of fear of retribution, but now decided to do the right thing. Oh, how honorable. In reality, they clearly had ulterior motives. Carter and his defense team suspected their accounts, and later testimony were given in exchange for promises of favorable treatment for their own criminal charges, largely by Lieutenant De Simone, and reward money, which at this time was in excess of $10,000.

Remi 1:25:34

Did they receive reward money for their testimony against Carter?

Ashley 1:25:39

Bello claimed he never got it. The trial began on April 7th, 1967. One black juror was selected, though he was later dismissed after being randomly selected as an alternate. Talk about a jury of your peers, am I right? The prosecution called several eyewitnesses, including survivor William Marens, who claimed his physical state caused him to not be able to make a reliable identification at the hospital. Prosecutors also said they recovered two unspent bullets from Carter's Dodge Polaro, though ballistics experts concluded they couldn't be definitively linked to either weapon, neither of which was ever recovered. Ultimately, the prosecution's case was primarily based on testimony from Bellow and Bradley. During cross-examination, defense attorneys highlighted inconsistencies between trial testimony and what was told to police, including differences in description of the suspects and the getaway vehicle. They also raised serious concerns about the investigation itself. Law enforcement never dusted the Lafayette Bar and Girl for fingerprints. No gunshot residue tests were performed on Carter or Artist. There was no physical evidence tying either man to the scene, no murder weapon, and no motive. Carter and Artist took the stand in their own defense, giving testimony consistent with the statements they had given police from the very beginning. After two and a half weeks, the jury took less than two hours to deliberate. Carter and Artis were convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. Carter received two consecutive and one concurrent life sentences. Artis' sentence, because of his young age and lack of criminal record, were to be served concurrently, meaning he would have a chance at parole. From the very beginning, Carter made it clear he was not going to quietly accept his sentence. He refused to remove his clothing during the intake process at Trenton State Prison and was sent to segregation. While there, he started to have vision problems in his right eye caused by a detached retina, likely connected to an old boxing injury. Later, his vision slowly faded to complete blackness. The surgery that was supposed to save his vision in his right eye was unsuccessful.

Remi 1:28:16

Never mentioned in the film.

Ashley 1:28:18

Before leaving the infirmary, Carter asked a prison tailor to alter the hospital pajamas into a respectable uniform. It's techniques like this that made it possible for him to avoid wearing the traditional prison jumpsuit throughout his incarceration.

Remi 1:28:34

So he was wearing tailored pajamas instead of a prison uniform?

Ashley 1:28:40

Yeah, he refused to put on the traditional prison garb and somehow got away with it. In general population, he also refused to eat in the mess hall, participate in organized activities, work, meet with the parole board, or carry his prison ID card. In his mind, accepting the role of an inmate meant accepting responsibility for a crime he didn't commit.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:04

Just because a misinformed jury, fed on lies, perjury by jailhouse snitches, just because this misinformed jury found me guilty did not make me guilty. You understand? And when I went into the prison, I refused to act the part of a guilty person. I refused to wear their clothes. I refused to eat their food. I refused to work their job. I would have refused to breathe the prison's air if I could have done so and yet remained alive. The one thing that I had that could never be compromised was my innocence.

Ashley 1:29:44

Carter spent all his free time in the law library trying to prove his innocence. He read trial transcripts, studied case law, and learned the appeals process. His first appeal relied on Miranda v. Arizona, a landmark decision the Supreme Court issued just four days before Carter and Artis were initially questioned.

Remi 1:30:07

Which is also a case that we covered in our Miranda's Victim episode, explaining how the Miranda rights came about.

Ashley 1:30:16

How crazy is it that that ruling was made just four days before they were arrested initially for this? That is wild. Carter maintained police never properly informed him of his Miranda rights before questioning, but with no documentation to prove what happened in the interrogation room, the court sided with the police.

Remi 1:30:37

No documentation?

Ashley 1:30:39

Like no recordings.

Remi 1:30:40

So it was just written stuff.

Ashley 1:30:43

Yeah, Vincent D. Simone said he did read the rights. Carter said he didn't. The court said, well, we're gonna believe this police officer. In 1971, Carter was transferred to Railway State Prison. On Thanksgiving, a riot broke out. It lasted 27 hours and was compared to the Attica prison riot that occurred in New York just months earlier. Carter refused to participate and was credited with helping it not spread further. The riot drew the attention of Richard Solomon, a recent film graduate living in New York. He was fascinated by Carter's story and envisioned making a film or documentary about his life. He started visiting Carter and encouraged him to write about his experiences. Once he had a hundred pages, Solomon gave the unfinished manuscript to an editor who convinced her publisher to give him a $10,000 advance to complete the book. In addition to working on his appeals, Carter took part in inmate advocacy focused on improving prison conditions. His peers elected him chairman of the Rahway People's Council, a role that caused him to clash with prison administrators. On November 1974, he was found in violation of inciting and holding an illegal meeting. His sanction was to be served at the Vroom Readjustment Unit behind Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, where inmates were held in near total isolation. And his transfer is the time when that really nice Lieutenant Krabs came in and took the manuscript.

Remi 1:32:21

His name was not Lieutenant Krabs, but I'll allow it.

Ashley 1:32:25

Carter's attorneys argued that he had been transferred illegally, and a federal judge agreed. After 92 days, he was transferred back to Trenton State Hospital. And nine years later, a federal judge also ruled in favor of his civil lawsuit and issued him like $30 something dollars per day he was held, which was a small sum of money, but it was the first personal victory Carter had in a while. That's kind of another reason why, towards the end, he is really motivated to get his case heard in the federal system. He had more successes there. Carter's case next gained the attention of Fred Hogan, a former patrol man now working as an investigator at the New Jersey Public Defender's Office. Carter reluctantly agreed to meet with him, and similar to Solomon, a relationship grew over time. During weekend meetings, they reviewed the trial transcripts and documents Carter couldn't get access to on his own. Hogan also learned Bellow was incarcerated for burglary and told other inmates he was troubled by his testimony in Carter's case.

Remi 1:33:35

Was it the burglary he had done that night, or he just went on to burgle something else?

Ashley 1:33:41

I think it was a different one.

Remi 1:33:43

Once a burglar, always a burglar in Bellow's case.

Ashley 1:33:47

Well past the five-year statute of limitations for perjury, Hogan hoped he could get Bellow to recant. Solomon, Hogan, and a journalist named Selwyn Robb tracked down Bellow and Bradley in search of the truth. Both men signed a written recantation, stating they were pressured into giving testimony against Artis and Carter in exchange for favorable treatment in their own criminal cases. However, the court in New Jersey rejected the veracity of these statements in December 1975.

Remi 1:34:23

Wait, so they were just like, no, we don't believe you. Yes. That's ridiculous. What more does he have to do? Literally, the only witnesses who were testifying against him recanted.

Ashley 1:34:38

Not the only ones. There was still the crime victim and a woman who spoke about seeing the car, but the main ones, yes. Well, with these new legal developments, Carter's supporters organized a public campaign advocating for his freedom. In the spring of 1975, they launched the Hurricane Trust Fund to raise money for his legal expenses. They also circulated bumper stickers, merchandise, brochures, and videos of Carter speaking from prison like this one.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:11

Life in prison is no life at all. Actually, I'm only existing. Survival of the fittest, so to speak. And that is part of my everyday life here. Brutality. I am somebody. I'm a human being. And if you do not treat me as a human being, then you're going to have some trouble at it.

Ashley 1:35:59

The New Jersey Defense Committee collected more than 15,000 signatures calling for the case to be reinvestigated. The effort attracted support from a remarkable list of celebrities and public figures, including Burt Reynolds, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, Don King, and Mohammed Ali.

SPEAKER_17 1:36:22

We have a boxing friend in prison out there somewhere in New Jersey. I forgot the exact prison. Just want to wish him luck in his appeal. They got him for manslaughter. I don't know the case, but many people say that he's innocent. Many of the detectives say he's innocent and they railroaded him. And his name is Reuben Hurricane Carden. So I want to make that up to the case.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:39

I don't know what the case about that.

Ashley 1:36:41

In the spring of 1975, Solomon sent a copy of Carter's newly published autobiography to one of his favorite musicians, Bob Dylan. Several weeks later, Dylan called to arrange a meeting. It went so well that he recorded Hurricane in October and ended his tour with a sold-out benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. The night before the concert, he performed the song for Carter at Trenton State Prison.

SPEAKER_14 1:37:20

Newspapers, they all for the ride.

Ashley 1:37:33

Meanwhile, Carter's attorneys petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court, arguing prosecutors suppressed critical evidence. While preparing for the recantation hearing a year earlier, they came across a tape of one of Bellow's investigations. On the recording, pesky Lieutenant Vincent DeSimone appeared to make promises to Bellow in exchange for his cooperation. Promises that contradicted his testimony that Bellow received no special treatment. After repeated questioning on the tape, Bellow eventually identified Carter and Artis as the shooters.

Remi 1:38:15

So he was convinced into identifying Carter, basically.

Ashley 1:38:20

He basically said he would work with prosecutors to get him a reduced sentence. And if he was sentenced to parole, he would make sure his parole was transferred to his preferred state. On March 17th,

Recantations Dylan And A Case Reopened

Ashley 1:38:36

1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously overturned the convictions of Reuben Carter and John Artist. In their ruling, they determined the prosecution aired by not turning over the aforementioned tape, which prevented the defendants from getting a fair trial. Three days later, Muhammad Ali personally posted their bail. The prosecution immediately announced their intention to retry the case.

Remi 1:39:05

So this should be the end of the story, right? He's out, they're free, case closed, but that's not how it pans out, is it?

Ashley 1:39:15

Unfortunately, it's not. While awaiting retrial, Carter traveled around the country speaking at universities and appearing on television programs, telling his story and advocating for criminal justice reform. One of these trips was taken with Caroline Kelly, a woman who created the New Jersey Defense Committee for Reuben Carter, organized rallies, and helped collect more than 15,000 signatures demanding a reinvestigation. They grew close while he was behind bars and when he was released, started a personal, intimate relationship.

Remi 1:39:51

Also not included in the film.

Ashley 1:39:54

But everything collapsed in June 1976. From a hospital bed in Newark, she told reporters he attacked and tried to strangle her in a hotel room six weeks earlier. But she had not filed a criminal complaint or civil lawsuit and gave vague descriptions of her injuries and medical treatment. Carter responded by saying there was a dispute between the two related to a financial disagreement and him ending his relationship with her, but he denied assaulting her. Nonetheless, the prosecutors requested a hearing to determine whether his bail should be revoked. In the end, it wasn't, but he was prohibited from traveling outside New Jersey while awaiting retrial. The controversy didn't result in new charges, but his relationships with many of his important allies began to crumble. By the fall of 1976, his public and financial support had all but dried up. The retrial began on November 11, 1976. Right before it started, the defense received devastating news. Alfred Bellow changed his story once again, now claiming his recantation was a lie and motivated by promises of fame and fortune, including royalties from Carter's autobiography, a potential book deal with Truman Capote, and even a job at the New York Times.

Remi 1:41:23

So he recanted his recantation.

Ashley 1:41:26

And he's trying to claim that he was promised a job at the New York Times and a book deal with Truman Capote. This is so clearly bullshit. And that was my last connection to prior cases. I just chuckle to myself whenever Truman Capote comes up because he sneaks in there every once in a while. Arthur Bradley did not reverse his recantation, but refused to testify because the prosecution allegedly promised him leniency for another pending charge. Once again, prosecutors relied heavily on Alfred Bellow's testimony, but this time they offered something else, a motive. If you remember, from the very beginning, investigators suspected the Lafayette Bar and Girl murders was an act of racial retaliation. Before the second trial began, they asked the judge to allow testimony related to a crowd of black residents who gathered outside the Waltz Inn after Holloway's murder. That was the first shooting that happened that night. Even though the defense objected, pointing out the lack of evidence connecting Carter or Artis to this crowd, the judge ruled such testimony admissible. The prosecution's argument was essentially this. They didn't have to prove that Carter personally knew the people involved in the earlier shooting, but he had a general hostility towards white people. In rebuttal, the defense detailed how Carter spent most of his life in racially mixed communities. He had white friends, white boxing managers, white trainers, white promoters, and white attorneys. They argued his outspoken criticism of racism didn't mean he committed a racially motivated murder. The prosecution also presented new evidence from a female witness who was now certain the getaway car matched Carter's Dodge Polera.

Remi 1:43:24

After giving it consideration for several years, I am sure that that was the car.

Ashley 1:43:30

Yeah, because eyewitness testimony and memories just strengthen over the course of a decade, right?

Remi 1:43:36

Oh yeah, you remember more and more details as the years roll on.

Ashley 1:43:40

The defense team faced another challenge. Some of Carter's alibi witnesses now claimed the defense instructed them to lie about his whereabouts on the night of the murders.

Remi 1:43:52

These are a lot of setbacks.

Ashley 1:43:54

On December 20th, 1976, after nine hours of deliberation, both men were again convicted and given the same sentences as before. Three days later, Carter's son was born. Back in prison, Carter's world became much smaller. Angry and humiliated, he shut everyone out of his life, even his family. His marriage ended in divorce. Two appeals, arguing juror, and prosecutorial misconduct were denied. His hopes for freedom were diminishing until a group of unlikely allies learned about the case. Thousands of miles away in Toronto, Canada, there was a small commune built around

The Real Toronto Commune Dynamics

Ashley 1:44:51

anti-establishment ideas and a desire to live outside traditional society.

Remi 1:44:57

This is not how the Canadians are portrayed in the film. They are portrayed more like roommates.

Ashley 1:45:04

The group included Lisa Peters, Rory Sinclair, Sean Cunningham, Edel Renbaum, and Terry Swinton, among others. And that second book you mentioned, Lazarus and the Hurricane, that was written by two of these commune members. They shared a belief system centered around independence, self-sufficiency, and challenging mainstream institutions. The group lived together in a highly controlled life dictated by Lisa. Members rarely socialized with anyone outside their circle. Dating or sexual relationships with outsiders were forbidden. Phone calls were screened. Lisa controlled the finances. People who were not part of the group were not allowed inside the home, and drugs and alcohol were prohibited.

Remi 1:45:56

Wait, wait, wait, wait. This sounds like a cult.

Ashley 1:46:01

It is giving off extreme cult vibes. Really, the only difference is Lisa wasn't someone who demanded her fellow commune members to worship her or have sex with her or anything like that, but it is giving extreme cult vibes. Yes, it is.

Remi 1:46:20

Yeah, that is not how it's portrayed in the film. It's portrayed as just three friendly Canadians living together. There is no commune or anti-establishment rhetoric or Lisa controlling the phone calls going in and out.

Ashley 1:46:36

Thank God they don't end up committing any crimes and nothing weird happens, but a lot of their way of life does raise some eyebrows. By coincidence, the group met 15-year-old Lesra Martin during a trip to New York.

Remi 1:46:53

Where did they meet him?

Ashley 1:46:55

So they were in New York pursuing a business venture and just stumbled upon him. He couldn't read or write, but they saw potential in him. They became his guardians and started homeschooling him in Toronto.

Remi 1:47:11

That is the weirdest. So his family just met these people who were part of this commune and let their son go to another country with them?

Ashley 1:47:21

Yeah, Lisa said that their goal was to get him into university in Toronto, and his parents wanted a better life for him. It could have ended very badly. But it didn't. Thankfully. I don't know. It's it's a really weird situation, which is why I'm assuming the director chose to just portray them as just kind of three roommates, because it's weird. It's really, really, really weird.

Remi 1:47:47

I'm sure the screenwriter writing The Hurricane was just like, why couldn't this have just been three normal people?

Ashley 1:47:54

While visiting a warehouse book sale, Lesra and several other members of the commune came across Carter's autobiography, The 16th Round. Lisa and Lesra were deeply moved by what they read.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:18

And for him to succeed under the circumstances in which he did and to never be broken despite so many years in prison made me realize I can certainly do this.

Ashley 1:48:28

Seeing a potential educational assignment, Lisa directed Lesra to write Carter a letter in prison. The first letter Lesra had ever written.

Remi 1:48:39

It is very strange how Lisa seems to be pulling the strings in all of this. In the movie, Lesra is just very moved by Carter's story and relates to it and wants to write him a letter. It's odd that it was assigned to him.

Ashley 1:48:56

So remember, at this point, this is the first letter he's ever written. So she is encouraging this, but also giving him educational opportunities. I'm sure he wanted to write, and Lisa encouraged that desire while also giving him an assignment.

Remi 1:49:15

Yeah, it does make sense in retrospect.

Ashley 1:49:18

The letter was dated September 20th, 1980. Carter rarely opened mail, but this day was different, and he eventually wrote back. The commune was thrilled. Lisa encouraged Lesra to visit Carter during a Christmas trip to see his family. Carter liked the boy immediately, but remained suspicious of the group behind him. He didn't understand this unusual Canadian household suddenly invested in his life.

Remi 1:49:50

In the film, it's really depicted as he doesn't trust them, mainly because they are white.

Ashley 1:49:56

But as he learned more about their way of life and values, he slowly let them in. Lisa Peters made Reuben Carter her personal mission. She spoke to him on the phone for hours every day, sent him countless care packages and pictures of their day-to-day lives, and started visiting him once a month, beginning in February 1981. The Canadians offered Carter something he'd been missing for years: a connection. They taught him how to trust, laugh, and see the joy in life again.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:31

My dear beautiful friends, how can I ever thank you for what you have given me? For the first time in close to 44 years, I can truly say that I trust somebody. And without reservation, without doubt, and without trying to condition it in any way. And for me, that is indeed a miracle. Bless you for it. I'll be talking to you soon.

Remi 1:51:01

With all my love, Wow, this sort of weird commune Canadian arrangement thing being led by Lisa could have turned out really, really badly, but it never crossed over into crazy town. It just sort of stayed in Weird Town, and it turns out these people actually were good-hearted, decent human beings who genuinely wanted to help.

Ashley 1:51:29

And I'm sure communal ways of life like this do exist. It's just usually when we hear about them, it does turn into a cult with a leader who is demanding worship.

Remi 1:51:39

Yeah, it usually ends in sexual favors and taking all of their money and the main person going to prison or dead. But this is one of the few instances where this odd living situation seems like it was okay.

Ashley 1:51:55

After Carter's conviction was again reaffirmed in August 1982, he started giving Lisa documents from the dozen or so boxes he'd been lugging around for years. The commune created a massive chart. I'm talking nine feet by three feet, that showed how witness statements changed over time.

Remi 1:52:14

Like one of those walls with red strings attached to everything.

Ashley 1:52:18

Yeah, I'm picturing that meme from It's Always Sunny with Charlie creating that massive board on his wall, and his eyes are all bloodshot and he's just foaming at the mouth.

SPEAKER_18 1:52:30

Carol! I gotta talk to you about Pepe! And when I open the door, what do I find? There's not a single goddamn desk in that office.

Verdict 1:52:36

There is no Carol in HR.

Ashley 1:52:41

This chart didn't contain new evidence, but it affirmed Carter's belief that testimony had been shaped and strengthened over time.

Remi 1:52:51

There are a lot of inconsistencies, to say the least.

Ashley 1:52:59

I do not believe Lesra was among them, relocated to Trenton and essentially became members of Carter's defense team. They reviewed documents, organized evidence, reinvestigated aspects of the investigation, and even drafted legal motions.

Remi 1:53:19

I am always amazed by stories of these random civilians who get involved with either trying to solve a case or get someone out of prison who have literally no connection to the people or the crime whatsoever. They're just taking it upon themselves to get involved.

Ashley 1:53:40

And in this case, it's remarkable. Carter's defense team would later say that initially they found the Canadians kind of annoying because they were calling at all hours and being a little intrusive. But as the years progressed, they had said that this was part of the best and most cohesive defense team they'd ever been a part of. And the Canadians were essential in helping Carter get freed.

Remi 1:54:23

It is pretty impressive.

Ashley 1:54:24

In June 1984, Carter transferred to Rahway State Prison, largely at the insistence of Lisa. She believed the less restrictive environment could better help him transition back to society and prepare for his eventual release. And she wasn't wrong. He became involved in the prison laundry program, the first job he ever held in prison, established a better routine, and made a conscious effort to avoid confrontations with prison officials.

Remi 1:54:56

Wow, Lisa is way more influential in all of this than she is depicted in the film.

Ashley 1:55:04

Yeah, even though Lesra would later say that he considered Ruben Carter a surrogate father, it's really his relationship with Lisa that was the forefront of his interactions with the Canadians.

Remi 1:55:18

And in the film, Lesra is really his closest connection that he has to the outside world. He is close with the Canadians, but his relationship with Lesra is much closer. Like they understand each other on a different level than the Canadians will ever understand.

Ashley 1:55:37

In February 1985, Carter's attorneys filed a

Federal Court Brady Claims And Freedom

Ashley 1:55:41

writ of habeas corpus in federal court, believing they would have a better chance of a favorable outcome if the case was not heard through the New Jersey court system. This type of request doesn't involve the judge ruling on guilt or innocence. Instead, it challenges the detention or imprisonment of an individual and asks the court to decide if it is fundamentally fair. The case was assigned to Judge H. Lee Sarakin. Oral arguments were held on July 26, 1985. The defense focused on two central themes. First, they argued the prosecution's theory of a racial revenge motive wasn't supported by evidence. There was no proof Carter or Artis participated in the earlier Waltz in shooting, no evidence connecting them to any revenge plot, and no evidence that racial retaliation was actually the reason for the Lafayette Bar and Girl murders.

Remi 1:56:44

Yeah, literally nothing connecting them to the crime except for a burglar named Bellow.

Ashley 1:56:50

Well, speaking of Bellow, they also argued that the prosecution failed to disclose the accurate results of a polygraph he had taken, which would have damaged his credibility and contradicted testimony he later gave.

Remi 1:57:05

Wait, so Bellow had done a polygraph test and said that it wasn't Carter and he passed?

Ashley 1:57:12

No, it was super confusing. Bello took a polygraph and was asked about his testimonies across time, and the person that was evaluating the results misconstrued them and eventually determined that an earlier statement that was saying he couldn't identify Carter and Artis was true, and the one later where he said it was them wasn't true, is essentially what happened in layman's terms.

Remi 1:57:43

You're right. That is more confusing.

Ashley 1:57:45

Judge Sarokin issued his decision via writing on November 7th, 1985. He did not comment on Carter and Artis' innocence. That wasn't the question before him. Instead, he concluded the convictions were unconstitutional on two major grounds. The first was Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court precedent requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence favorable to the defense. Sarakin ruled that prosecutors violated this obligation by failing to disclose the true results of Alfred Bellow's polygraph. The second violation involved the prosecution's theory that the murders were motivated by racial revenge. Sarakin concluded the state improperly appealed to racial prejudice by introducing a theory that wasn't supported by evidence. Allowing the jury to hear evidence about racial hostility without a meaningful connection to Carter or Artis violated their rights to due process and equal protection. Sarakin overturned the convictions, attacked the prosecution's case, and recommended neither man be retried. The next day, Carter was taken to a federal courthouse in Newark, New Jersey. So this would have been when he gave that motivational speech to Sarakin because he was before Judge Sarakin for this hearing, but it was kind of more of a formality. The judge's decision had already been given.

Remi 1:59:23

So it wasn't pleading to his sense of humanity and saying, look past the judicial bullshit and listen to your heart.

Ashley 1:59:33

Yeah, it was basically just the judge saying, okay, this is my ruling, this man should be released now and giving the prosecution an opportunity to object the release hearing, which is what I'll explain right now.

Remi 1:59:46

That's much more realistic, but way less exciting.

Ashley 1:59:50

Well, at this hearing, John Artis, who was granted parole on December 22nd, 1981, was also there with his wife. Prosecutors announced they intended to appeal Sarakin's decision and argued that Carter should remain incarcerated in the meantime because he was a danger to society. Their argument was rejected. After nearly two decades behind bars, Reuben Carter was going home. The judge ordered his immediate release, but there were conditions. He couldn't leave the state and had to keep authorities informed of his address. Unlike the first time his conviction was overturned, Carter lay low with the commune while waiting to see the prosecution's next steps. Their motion to overturn Sarakin's decision was denied on August 21, 1987. The Supreme Court also declined to hear the case in January 1988. Although Carter had grounds to pursue a civil lawsuit against the state, he chose not to. He didn't want to spend another minute inside a courtroom. On February 19, 1988, prosecutors formally requested that all charges against Reuben Carter and John Artis be dismissed. Eight days later, the charges were officially dropped. The case was finally over, but there was no compensation, apology, or even a public acknowledgement of their innocence. But none of this caused Carter to harbor resentments.

SPEAKER_04 2:01:26

And if I would have returned to society full of bitterness and full of hate and full of rage, the prison would have won. They would have captured my soul. And if I've never learned anything else in my life, I've learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. So there's no way in the world that I was going to let them win.

Remi 2:01:55

Firstly, Ruben Carter is a very good public speaker. And secondly, he is a better man than I am because I would be fucking furious. These people stole his life.

Ashley 2:02:11

Forget about the fact that he didn't even get any money for the 20 years he spent in prison. No one from the prosecutor's office or law enforcement apologized or even acknowledged that they got the wrong person. Many still believed at the time of that 2000 book I mentioned earlier that Carter and artists were the people who perpetrated this crime.

Remi 2:02:34

Unfortunately, law enforcement have a long history of not admitting their mistakes. Wait, what? He married Lisa?

Ashley 2:02:49

Yes, they do end up getting a divorce. I'm not sure when, but their marriage was one of practicality. He wanted Canadian citizenship, and she wanted the prestige and symbolism of being married to a man whose freedom she helped secure. He claims they never even consummated their marriage. From 1993 to 2005, Carter served as executive director for the Association in Defense of the Wrongfully Convicted, an organization dedicated to investigating and fighting wrongful convictions. In February 1994, he left the commune for good. Although he was forever grateful, he started to view the group as another type of prison, one where he wasn't behind bars, but also not free to do as he pleased. The last straw was when Lisa said no one in the commune can smoke cigarettes anymore. Carter moved in with Lesra Martin, who had also left the commune years earlier. The once illiterate teen graduated with honors from the University of Toronto, earned a master's degree in anthropology, and was pursuing doctoral work in sociology. Carter began writing, traveling, and giving lectures around the United States, with Lesra as his companion and unofficial assistant. The relationship, like so many before it, wasn't always easy. After a pay dispute, the two went their separate ways. They remained in contact for several years before cutting ties completely. Sadly, Carter was invited to but did not attend Lesra's wedding. Afterwards, Carter's drinking became increasingly problematic. He missed business appointments and was noticeably intoxicated during public appearances. His drinking further intensified when he started losing vision in his left eye in the summer of 1997. After cataract surgery in January 1998, he gave up alcohol for good. In the years that followed, Carter continued advocating for the wrongfully convicted. On October 14, 2005, he received two honorary doctorates of law. He remained distant from his children and siblings, but there was never anger or resentment between them. Every year on the anniversary of his exoneration, he called Judge Sarakin to thank him. In March 2012, while attending the International Justice Conference in Burstwood, Western Australia, Carter revealed he had terminal prostate cancer. John Artis moved in and helped care for him as his health declined. He died on April 20th, 2014, at the age of 76. His ashes were scattered over Cape Cod and a horse farm in Kentucky. And that is the true story of Norman Jewison's The Hurricane. What'd you think, Remy? Wow, that was a lot. I'm tired.

Remi 2:05:57

First thought, they cut a lot out. This is a complicated story with a lot of different ups and downs and complex characters that was really streamlined into a film that is about there was a boxer, he was falsely imprisoned, and he got out. But there is so much more to the story than that. And we've been saying this the entire episode, but this needed to be a miniseries. There was a lot more to this story than the film could ever do justice to in the two plus hour time frame they were given.

Ashley 2:06:39

The movie cut a lot out. I had to cut a lot out and streamline a lot of stuff from the book about every single appeal. In the book that I read, every single appeal he had that was rejected had a full explanation of the basis of the appeal and why or why it was not rejected. There was so much information. I was surprised I was even able to condense it down into a script that could be covered in one episode. I think the director and screenwriter had ambitious goals with telling this story in a movie, and I am glad it was told, but I agree it would have been better suited in a format that would have allowed for more things to be fleshed out.

Remi 2:07:30

It is a complicated story full of complex characters that I feel the film made very one-dimensional and almost cliche in order to fit the thematic tone that they were going for with this inspirational tale. And I really would have liked to see something a bit more closer to what actually happened and exploring those complex feelings and emotions that Carter was going through during this time. He was in jail, he was out of jail, he was being given help by these random Canadians who seemed very cult-like. There's a lot more to this, and it's more fascinating when you get into all these little extra details. And I feel like the people in real life are just more interesting characters than how they are portrayed in the film.

Ashley 2:08:28

I agree. I was really surprised that Lisa's role was not more prominent in the movie. And second, I think they portrayed Carter as a man with fewer flaws than he had. And I think that highlighting some of the flaws in the movie wouldn't have taken away from the tragedy of this case. If anything, it made him more relatable.

Remi 2:08:55

And I think it makes it more interesting. The film portrays him as this man who really didn't drink, he didn't cheat on his wife, he may have flirted with other women, but he was an innocent. He didn't do anything wrong. As a child, he was fighting off a pedophile. Like he is just a good person who was fucked over by the system and this one-dimensional pesky lieutenant pesca character that they created. And I think it is so much more interesting when it is a flawed character. It is someone who has had run-ins with the law, and they are being accused of something that they may have been guilty of other stuff in the past, but they are not guilty of this. I just think that's a more fascinating, interesting story than what was given to us.

Ashley 2:09:44

And it's even more interesting because in subsequent interviews, and there's a lot out there with Ruben Carter, he doesn't portray himself as a person without flaws. He doesn't say he was this law-abiding, nonviolent person. He is very upfront with the fact that he was an angry person for many, many years and was making poor decisions. That's something he owns.

Remi 2:10:10

Well, I think we're gonna hold off on delving further into this until our verdict portion. But for now, let's get into our objection of the

Objections Verdict And Next Movies

Remi 2:10:22

week.

SPEAKER_13 2:10:24

Your Honor, I object! And why is that, Mr. Eden? Because it's devastating to my case! Overrule. Good call!

Ashley 2:10:32

All right, I'll kick us off here. My most unnecessary change from the true story to the adaptation is gonna be the fact that in the movie, Ruben Carter fights the man. Whether or not he was a pedophile or not is not part of my objection, but he assaults and fights this man when he's 10 years old and spends eight years in juvie before he escapes. In reality, this fight occurred when he was 14 years old and he escaped after two years.

Remi 2:11:05

He also did not use a switchblade in real life, but that's besides the point. My objection for this week is the fact that in real life he was the European welterweight champion while serving in the army. However, in the film, he is the all-army welterweight champion, which I assume they changed because they don't go into the fact that he served in Europe. But yeah, seems like you could have mentioned that. They don't really show him in the army at all. So they could have mentioned that he served in Europe and could have said that he was the European welterweight champion while serving over there.

Ashley 2:11:47

I'm gonna give it to you on this one. That is such a dumb small change. Mine, I think, was clearly done to make him seem more sympathetic.

Remi 2:11:59

And there are a lot of those changes, but I digress. Let's dive into our verdict.

Verdict 2:12:06

At the conclusion of each episode, our hosts will deliver a verdict based on the film's accuracy. If the film is an honest portrayal of the events, then it will earn a not guilty verdict. If the adaptation is mostly factual, but creative liberties were taken for the sake of entertainment, the film will be declared a mistrial. But if the film ultimately strays too far from the truth, then it will be condemned as guilty and sentenced to a life behind bars.

Remi 2:12:35

I will kick things off or punch things off this week with our verdict. I was thinking about this a lot while you were telling your portion of the tale, and I just came to the conclusion that there is a lot of omissions, but the framework is there. So as a result, I'm gonna give this film a mistrial. I think that it covers the basics, but it streamlines the story to an absurd degree, omitting tons of stuff, omitting tons of character development, omitting full trials, releases, re-emprisonments. All of that is nowhere to be seen on screen. However, it does have the main story there. It has Ruben Carter's boxing career, it has his prison sentence, it has his release. It's just all done like a Cliff's notes version, basically. It doesn't go into so many different aspects of his life that it really is a disservice of a film. Denzel did an amazing job with the role, but I do not think that the film did any justice to Ruben Carter's true story. So, mistrial from me. What do you think, Ashley? What do you say?

Ashley 2:13:56

I agree. I went back and forth and really thought about this for a while just when we paused not that long ago to take a break for lunch. You asked me what my verdict was gonna be, and I was like, I'm not really sure yet. But I think there's no question it is a mistrial, primarily just based on how many things were omitted. If there would have been two differences that were made, I probably would have given it and not guilty. One, if the commune was accurately portrayed and Lisa's influence and relationship with Carter was more fleshed out in the movie. And two, if they would have included anything about the second trial.

Remi 2:14:38

It really was glossed over. They don't even give it a sentence of dialogue.

Ashley 2:14:43

They do. He says, I went through two trials and that's it.

Remi 2:14:47

That's just mushing it in with the first trial, though.

Ashley 2:14:51

So if both of those things would have been included and more accurately portrayed, I probably still would have gone with not guilty, recognizing that it was a lot of shit to squeeze into two hours. But they didn't, so I agree.

Remi 2:15:06

Alright, well, I guess that's a TKO for The Hurricane. And next week we are going to be diving into a new court case that is completely different than a wrongful conviction. It is the film Inherit the Wind. Ashley, can you tell us a little bit about what this movie is all about?

Ashley 2:15:30

Yes. So this is an old movie, 1966, that is based on the Scopes trial, which was a legal case from 1925, in which a high school teacher was accused of teaching evolution in public schools, which was illegal in Tennessee at the time.

Remi 2:15:54

The film stars Gene Kelly and Spencer Tracy. And the primary reason that I wanted to do this film was because it gave me the chance to talk about Gene Kelly and some of the work he's done. However, I don't think he has a big role in this film. This is mainly a Spencer Tracy project.

Ashley 2:16:13

And I wanted to do it because I really like civil trials and civil cases. They are so different from criminal cases, and it just gives us a chance to talk about something that typically doesn't involve another person being murdered or maimed.

Remi 2:16:30

Yes, and that is two weeks from now. Two weeks from then, if you're more into murder and maiming, we will be covering From Hell and the entire Jack the Ripper saga. So we have two very different films coming up in the future, and a lot more to look forward to after that. If you have enjoyed what you've heard today, please leave a like or tell a friend or post it online. You know, do something. It always helps. We sincerely appreciate it. We also have TikTok and all that stuff, and we go into that at the very end of the podcast. So stay tuned.

Ashley 2:17:04

And now, to tide you over, here is a clip from the Inherit the Win trailer.

Remi 2:17:11

And until next time, everyone, court is adjourned.

SPEAKER_18 2:17:16

God speaks to Brady, and Brady tells the world. Brady, Brady, Brady, oh my god, I object by the joke, and the job cloud. Is it possible that something is holy to the celebrated example? Yes. The individual human mind. How do they go about all this begat? What do you mean? Well, I mean, did they uh do they beg in much the same way as uh folks get themselves begat today?