Carter and Artis --
Twice Convicted of Triple Murder
Was
it purely a case of racism? Or did the prosecution actually
have a strong case against Carter?
The
First Trial: May,
1967
Here are some
of the reasons the jury found Carter and Artis guilty:
Carter's
car matched descriptions of the getaway car
- Minutes after
the murders, both Al Bello and Patty Valentine independently told
the police that the getaway car was a new,
white car with triangular taillights and out-of-state plates.
Carter's
alibi and John Artis' alibi, contradicted each other
The
jury didn't believe Carter's alibi witness: Carter's alibi witnesses
said she remembered what time Carter gave her a ride home because she
was anxious to get home as she had to work in the morning. The prosecution
brought in the payroll supervisor from the hospital where she worked.
He showed that she had been on vacation that next day.
Live
ammunition found in Carter's car matched the types of ammunition used
in the shootings.
Hours
before the murders, Carter was searching for some guns that had been
stolen from him earlier that year.
Alfred
Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley said they recognized "Hurricane"
Carter fleeing the crime scene.
The
all white jury at the first trial --
from the movie, The Hurricane
In
1974, Al Bello and Arthur Dexter Bradley "recanted"
(took back) their testimony against Carter and Artis and said that they'd
been pressured by the police to frame them. (But Judge Larner, who presided
at the first trial, ruled that their new story
didn't hold together.)
Carter
published his falsehood-filled autobiography, The 16th Round
and gave a lengthy Penthouse interview,
reinventing himself as an outspoken black activist.
Bob
Dylan's song, Hurricane, was released.
Carter
and Artis were granted a new trial after an appeal court ruled that
the prosecution had
withheld knowledge of a tape recording of Bello giving his statement
to DeSimone. Many celebrities flocked to the cause.
"The
ruling [to grant a new trial] was ironical because at the trial the
prosecution tried to present testimony about the interviews but was
blocked by the defense. The high court said the prosecution should have
persuaded the defense to withdraw its objection." (editorial,
Justice Wins)
Carter
and Artis were released on bail. Then Carolyn
Kelley, one of Carter's biggest supporters, claimed
that he beat her into unconsciousness. The celebrities who'd supported
Carter's bid for freedom faded
away after that.
Second
trial: December, 1976
The second jury
included two blacks. The defense gave all the potential jurors for the
second trial a list of over 40 questions to test them on their racial
attitudes. The jurors were drawn from a different county.
Carter's
alibi witnesses from the first trial said that Carter had asked
them to lie.
The jury learned
that while in jail awaiting the first trial, Carter
wrote a letter to an alibi witness, laying out the alibi story
(that he was giving her a ride home at the time of the trial) and asked
her to "remember" it.
John Artis's
alibi was also shaken when he said he'd spent some time at a friend's
house around the time of the murders, and the friend denied it.
The prosecution
argued that the murders were revenge
for the murder, earlier that night, of a black bartender by a white
man.
Carter surprised
his lawyers by refusing to take the stand in his own defense.
Although
his book, The 16th Round, had plenty
of accusations against the police, it seems Carter wasn't willing to
be cross-examined about those accusations, or about his flimsy alibis.
The defense accused
the police of planting the live ammunition in Carter's car. The
jury didn't buy it. Two witnesses, a newspaper reporter and Patty
Valentine, testified that they saw the ammunition the night it was found.
Al Bello went
back to his original testimony and said it was Carter that he saw
fleeing the bar. He said that Carter's
supporters had offered to bribe him to recant his testimony and
blame DeSimone for pressuring him into fingering Carter. The court heard
evidence that Fred Hogan, a Carter supporter, offered Bello some of
the proceeds from The 16th Round and that reporter Selwyn Raab
knew about this bribe attempt.
Carter and Artis
were re-convicted. DeSimone said he felt vindicated. Prosecutor
Burrell Humphreys said it would be a cold day in July before Madison
Avenue hucksters and Hollywood tried to
determine the course of justice in New Jersey.
"The campaign
to free the two was shameful. It was a racist, show biz operation which
blamed the 1966 convictions on racism and a frame-up.... Chief DeSimone...
was depicted as the mastermind, a rank injustice to a man who has for
years borne a reputation for being a decent, conscientious policeman."
(editorial,
"Justice Wins")
Note:
many of the links above are to Cal Deal's informative site,
"Hurricane
Carter:the Other Side of the Story"
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