In the “Century Marks” section of the May 28 issue of THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY the last days of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, the boxer featured in the wonderful film The Hurricane, are noted. (If you are not familiar with this true story of the wrongfully imprisoned for murder boxer, effectively played by Denzil Washington, click onto the title.)
According to the summary of a Huffington Post story the boxer called H. Lee Sarokin, the judge who had ordered his release from prison after a teenager and his foster parents uncovered enough evidence to prove his innocence. It had been 28 years since that happy day, and every year “Hurricane” had called him. This time it was to say Goodbye and that he wanted “yours to be the last voice I hear before I pass away, because you were the one who gave my life back to me. I love you man.” A few days later he died of cancer. According to Judge Sarokin, Carter did not harbor any bitterness about his 19-year incarceration. This incident, along with the film itself is a good source for sermon material. A friend used to say to me about such films, “That’ll preach!”
