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Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter dies at 76

Published:Monday | April 21, 2014 | 12:00 AM
In this January 29, 2004, file photo, former boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter holds up the writ of habeas corpus that freed him from prison during a news conference held in Sacramento, California. Carter, who spent almost 20 years in jail after twice being convicted of a triple murder he denied committing, died at his home in Toronto, Sunday, April 20, 2014, according to long-time friend and co-accused John Artis. He was 76. - AP

American former boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose wrongful conviction for murder caused an international outcry, has died at the age of 76.

He died on Sunday at his home in Toronto, Canada, his friend and former co-defendant John Artis confirmed.

Carter spent 19 years in prison for three murders in New Jersey in 1966.

The alleged racial motivations behind the incarceration became well known in Bob Dylan's song Hurricane, several books and a film, starring Denzel Washington.

Artis said Carter had died in his sleep, following a battle with prostate cancer, Associated Press news agency reported.

Carter was charged with the murder of three white people in New Jersey in 1966.

He was convicted on the evidence of two white prosecution witnesses, who were attempting to commit a burglary near the location of the murders.

The witnesses recanted their statements in 1974, and Carter was briefly freed in 1976 after the guilty verdicts were overturned.

The case made Carter a high-profile figure in the civil-rights movement, and famous campaigners, including Bob Dylan and Muhammad Ali, expressed their support for him.