06/17/66
Two men and a woman are fatally shot at the Lafayette Bar and Grill
in Paterson, NJ. Following the shooting, police arrest Rubin Carter
and John Artis and take them to the hospital room where the surviving victim
of the shooting, William Marins, is recovering from his gunshot wound.
Marins was unable to identify Carter and Artis as the trigger men.
Police declare that Carter and Artis "were never suspects."
06/29/66
Carter and Artis testify voluntarily before a Passaic County grand
jury and are exonerated. They are not indicted by grand juries in
August, September, or October.
10/14/66
Key prosecution witness Alfred P. Bello, who was a known felon at
the time, gives the police a signed statement claiming he saw Carter and
Artis at the murder scene. Carter and Artis are arrested and later indicted
for the triple murders. Apparently, lawyers for the prosecution were
in possession of a tape recording in which Bello indicates that he is uncertain
as to whether or not Carter and Artis were present at the bar. However,
these tapes were withheld from the defense (more on this later).
05/27/67
An all white jury convicts Carter and Artis. The prosecutor seeks
death penalty, but the jury recommends mercy. Carter and Artis are sentenced
to three life terms.
04/30/74
Carter is illegally transferred from Rahway State Prison to the
Vroom Readjustment Unit at the Trenton State Psychiatric Hospital.
07/74
Carter files a federal suit against the state for inflicting cruel
and unusual punishment. After a hearing, Federal District Judge Clarkson
S. Fisher orders Carter's immediate release from illegal detention in the
Readjustment Unit.
09/74
Carter's book, The Sixteenth Round, is published by Viking Press.
Bello and Arthur D. Bradley, the only witnesses to claim Carter and Artis
were at the scene, separately recant and state they were pressured by Paterson
detectives to give false testimony; they were offered $10,000 in reward
money and promises of lenient treatment in criminal charges pending against
them.
05/75
Carter sends a copy of his book to Dylan "because of his prior commitment
to the civil rights struggle".
06/75
Dylan visits Carter in prison. "The first time I saw him, I left
knowing one thing ... I realized that the man's philosophy and my philosophy
were running down the same road, and you don't meet too many people like
that".
07/75
Dylan and Jacques Levy write the song Hurricane. The
original recording is never released.
10/24/75
Hurricane is re-recorded with slightly different lyrics.
CBS lawyers feel that the lines about Bradley and Bello "robbing the bodies"
could lead to litigation. (Later they are sued by Patty Valentine, who
lost the suit in 1979)
03/17/76
The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously overturns the convictions,
ruling that the prosecution withheld evidence favorable to the defense,
and orders a new trial. Carter and Artis are released on bail.
12/22/76
After a second trial in which the prosecution was allowed to argue
for the first time that the murders were motivated by racial revenge, Carter
and Artis are reconvicted; the same life sentences are imposed, and they
are forced to return to prison.
12/22/81
Artis is released on parole, after serving 15 years.
08/17/82
The New Jersey Supreme Court, in a 4-to-3 decision, rejects an appeal
for a new trial.
11/07/85
Judge H. Lee Sarokin of Federal District Court in Newark, NJ overturns
the second trial convictions after finding that the prosecution committed
"grave constitutional violations." In his decision to grant
Carter a writ of habeas corpus, Sarokin wrote:
"The extensive record clearly demonstrates that the petitioners' convictions were predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure . . . . To permit convictions to stand which have as their foundation appeals to racial prejudice and the withholding of evidence critical to the defense is to commit a violation of the Constitution as heinous as the crimes for which these petitioners were tried and convicted."
11/08/85
The prosecutors argue that Carter is dangerous and should remain
in prison pending the state's appeal. Finding no evidence of dangerousness,
Judge Sarokin orders Carter free without bail: "human decency mandates
his immediate release". Carter has served 19 years in prison.
12/19/85
The prosecutors assert to the United States Third Circuit Court
of Appeals that Carter is a danger to the community and should be reincarcerated
pending appeal.
01/17/86
The court rejects the state's arguments, and Carter remains free.
08/21/87
The US Court of Appeals upholds Judge Sarokin's decision throwing
out the convictions.
01/11/88
The US Supreme Court denies the state's appeal, thus affirming Judge
Sarokin's rulings.
02/19/88
The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office announces that they will
not seek a third trial, and they file a motion to dismiss the 1966 indictments
against Carter and Artis.
02/26/88
A Passaic County judge signs the order dismissing the indictments.
04/11/96
Carter is arrested and taken into custody by Toronto narcotics officers
who were searching for a cocaine dealer who had sold to an undercover cop.
The police called it a "case of mistaken identity," and said they would
pay for the damage his car sustained during the search. Carter, who
spent 19 years in jail last time he was wrongfully arrested, was extremely
angry. "I am so furious that what happened happened simply because
I was wearing a jacket and I am black," he said after his release.
Sources: Various biographies, "Outside The Law," Look Back 1988, Sports Illustrated, the Toronto Star and various web sites.