Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, boxer wrongly convicted of murder, dies at 76: He had been stricken with prostate cancer in Toronto, the New Jersey native's adopted home. John Artis, a longtime friend and caregiver, said Carter died in his sleep.

That was the story of the Hurricane.

"Hurricane" Carter's was one of the most clear cases of injustice I've ever seen. Where the police knew he didn't do it and stacked the evidence for prosecution against him, even knowing he was innocent.

In a time when racism truly ruled across large parts of the country, this was a case where racism was unquestionably a factor.

I'm glad he was able to be vindicated, released, and live out a good portion of his life in freedom before he died.

I've seen many cases in recent years, with defendants both black and white, who were falsely accused and then later found innocent and released, a decade or more after the fact. Which is why I sometimes think it would be better to do away with the death penalty, so there is a chance to reverse a bad decision, except in cases where they unquestionably did the murder, like Nadal Hassan or the Tsarnaev brothers.