The story of Rubin Carter is a racially charged, confused, and still mysterious case. His story began when he and his friend John Artis were arrested for the triple-homicide at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. They were convicted in 1967 and sentenced to a life prison term. Because the court ruled evidence was withheld from the defense, the two men were granted an appeal in 1976. But again, the men were convicted. It wasnt until 1985 when a petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was issued and a U.S. District Court Judge ruled in favor or Carter and Artis.
The story begins supposedly when a friend of Carter's, Eddie Rawls' stepfather, a black barowner was murdered by a white
man. With the black community in outrage, Carter decided he would go after a known racist bartender in the area. This known racist bartender was Jim Oliver, the owner of the Lafayette Grill.
On June 17, 1966 at about 2:30 AM, Rubin Carter and John Artis, armed with a .32 caliber revolver and 12 gauge pump shotgun, rushed into the Lafayette Bar and Grill. Jim Oliver, the bar owner, was killed by a shotgun blast to his back. The gunmen shot Fred "Bob" Nauyoks in the head then turned and shot William Marins in the head above his eye, who was sitting two stools to the left of Mr. Nauyoks. On their way out of the bar, they spotted Mrs. Hazel Tanis sitting in the corner of the bar and shot her once with the shotgun and four times with the revolver. Oliver and Nauyoks died instantly, Tanis died a month later in the hospital, and Marins survived from the shooting. Next door, Alfred Bello and his friend Arthur Bradley were attempting to break into a factory, but stopped when they saw Carter and Artis leaving the grill. Carter and Artis were pulled over at 2:42 am for speeding, but the police could not identify them as the gunmen and they were let go. Later on, the witnesses Bello and Bradley identified Carter's white car and Carter and Artis were arrested.
Over the course of the trial, Bello changed his mind on whether or not Carter was the gunman. At first, he named Carter and Artis as the gunmen, but during the appeals case, he changed his mind and denied that they were the gunmen. He was required to take two sets of polygraph tests, the first of which said Carter was innocent and the second proving Carter was guilty.
But, Carter's defense was not notified about the results of the second testing, and so in 1985, they petitioned for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Controversy over the legality of the Writ, the unforseen future of the case, and the fact that Carter and Artis had already served 20 years led the prosecution to drop the case and release the men from prison.