Former boxer, civil rights activist speaks at greek festival

Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, the world's number one contender for the middleweight crown in 1966, had all the trappings of a world-famous boxer: a six-figure salary, a 36-foot yacht, a big house in the suburbs and a custom-made el Dorado Cadillac with his name emblazoned in silver on the side.

But it was all taken away when he was accused of murdering three white men in a New Jersey bar, a crime he did not commit.

"The next thing I knew, I was fighting for my life," Carter said.

The then 29-year-old Carter was brought to a trial where the judge, the foreman, the prosecutor, the lawyer and the jury all were white.

"I, at that time, was black," said Carter.

To an awed crowd in Goldstein Auditorium Thursday night, Carter spoke about his 19-year-long wrongful imprisonment and his eventual release, the subject of which the 1999 movie, "The Hurricane," was based on. The lecture was part of Greek Unity Fest, sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

The state had sought the death penalty, Carter said. Despite passing a lie detector test, having a credible alibi, and being exonerated before a grand jury, he was declared guilty, but with a "recommendation" of mercy.

Carter was given life imprisonment, just narrowly escaping the electric chair.

In prison, Carter said he seethed in his cell, angry at everyone. But, during a routine prison medical examination, he happened to look at himself in the mirror, an image he described as monstrous.

It was then, he said, that he knew he had to change.

"Hatred and bitterness was eating me up," he said.

Carter said he survived prison when he learned to dream. Throughout his speech, he urged the audience to "dare to dream."

"My dream was to find something above the law," he said. "For it was the law that put me in prison."

After serving 19 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, Carter received a writ of habeas corpus in 1985, which allowed his case to be re-examined before a higher court, where the judge ordered for Carter's immediate release.

Carter now held up the worn-down writ for the audience to see.

"I consider this absolutely sacred," he said, pointing to the writ. "Without it, I would have languished, wasted away and died behind bars."

Two years ago, Griffith University of Brisbane, Australia conferred him with an honorary doctorate of law degree, "transforming 'The Hurricane' into a gentle breeze,'" Carter said.

Some 39 years after his boxing career ended, the World Boxing Council this year presented Carter with the middleweight world championship belt.

Carter now devotes his time to Innocence International, an organization created which he said will be a "beacon for human liberty." The organization defends innocent people worldwide who are wrongfully convicted.

"Because of my experiences, I can speak and act for truth," Carter said. "I have lived the nightmare and I have survived it."

Carter also serves on the boards of various organizations devoted to similar goals, such as the Southern Center for Human Rights, the Alliance for Prison Justice and the Association of the Wrongfully Convicted.

He said these organizations have secured the release of many who were wrongfully imprisoned due to prosecutorial misconduct, deliberate falsification of forensic evidence or police brutality.

Carter then spoke about the injustices of the U.S. criminal justice system and capital punishment.

Carter pointed out the United States has the largest prison population in the world and that one out of every three black men between the ages of 12 and 37 is under the control of the U.S. criminal justice system.

"That's outrageous," Carter said. "The system does not work."

He said the criminal justice system is used as a form of population control worldwide, pointing to France as an example. France has a six percent Muslim population, yet 50 percent of its prison population is Muslim.

Carter encouraged students in the audience to take charge of their lives. He said this generation is smarter than his own was, since today's young people live in an age of advanced technology.

"During my life, we've gone from slave ship to spaceship," Carter said.

Ithamar Turenne, a freshman biology student, said Carter's words hit her hard.

"He's a very motivational speaker," Turenne said.

Natalie Byrdsong, an assistant residence director, said she thought Carter had a very inspiring message - that "whatever challenge - it's all on you."