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The Hurricane Tapes

Factual: Life Stories

The true story of the triple murder convictions of boxer Rubin Hurricane Carter.

Racism, poverty and violence. Enter the world of Rubin Carter #HurricaneTapes

Meet Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter. To understand the events of June 1966 we must first understand him: the man, the boxer, his life and the times he lived in.

The previously unheard cassette recordings reveal his traumatic childhood, entwined with racism and violence; how he finds redemption in boxing, and how his violent persona in the ring spills out on to the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. It’s about why he thought cops targeted him, all set against the 1966 backdrop of civil rights era America.

The Hurricane Tapes: Boy wonder

09/03/2019 GMT

Boy wonder

BBC World Service - The Hurricane Tapes, Boy wonder

How an illiterate teenager succeeded where lawyers and celebrities had failed

How an illiterate teenager succeeded where lawyers and celebrities had failed.

We fast forward to 1981, to find how a 15-year-old illiterate boy named Lesra Martin succeeded where top lawyers and celebrities like Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan had failed. Lesra, a kid from the New York ghettos, learned to read thanks to Rubin Carter’s autobiography. It inspired him to help free Carter, who by now had been behind bars for 15 years.
  
Presented by Steve Crossman and produced by Steve Crossman and Joel Hammer for BBC World Service.

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