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. Show less