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"The Hurricane's" Victims
That makes for a great story line: Innocent black man serves 19 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit! The problem is that there are countless reasons to believe that Carter did indeed murder three people in cold blood on the night of June 19, 1966 in a Paterson bar. The other part of this story that you won't see in the "Hurricane" movie is the unimaginable pain and suffering experienced by the families of those murdered by Rubin Carter. You won't see Hazel Tanis begging in the corner of the Lafayette Bar begging Carter and his accomplice John Artis for her life. Nor will you see Hurricane Carter telling Artis to "Finish her... Finish her..." after Artis pumped three bullets into the young mother. Artis was unable to finish off Hazel because he was out of bullets. Carter then turned to the woman and blew off her shoulder with a shotgun. Hazel Tanis died 27 days later. Before she died Hazel identified Carter as the man who shot her. You won't see that in the movie either. Recently Hazel Tanis' children Barbara and Rick Burns joined the other family members of Rubin Carter's victims for a press conference. Their goal was to let the world know that while the "Hurricane" movie is a box office hit, innocent people were killed. Two juries found Carter guilty of first degree murder. People lost loved ones. Carter was never exonerated as the movie depicted. He was let off on a technicality. Rick Burns said of the movie, "It was all wrong." After the movie opened, Burns called his sister and said something had to be done. I recently had the chance to speak with Hazel Tanis' two children. The pain on their faces was undeniable. It was as if they were experiencing their mother's death 34 years later. Rick and Barbara told me about seeing Denzel Washington call up Hurricane Carter on to the stage at the Golden Globes saying; "This man is love." Rick was especially confused and angry over Carter being honored at the United Nations and his chumming it up with the President at the White House. All this for the killer who told John Artis to "finish her" because she was the only person left in the bar who could ID them. Says Barbara; "Racism is kept alive by men like Rubin Carter. Stop making him a hero." Tom Vicedomini's grandfather Fred Nauyoks was one of the three people killed by Hurricane Carter 34 years ago. Tom joined the Burns at that recent press conference. His words were powerful; "Thanks to Rubin Carter and Hollywood, our families are left to agonize once again over the crime. Hollywood has created a hero out of a vicious criminal. ... the movie glorifies a violent individual. We're here to let you know the damage Hollywood can do to people's lives." Jim DeSimone's father, Vincent, lead the investigation against Carter and was falsely accused in the movie of being a racist cop looking to frame Carter for a crime he didn't commit. Jim was invited to the premiere of the movie. He was stunned at what he saw. He joined the "survivors" of Rubin Carter's victims for the press conference, adding; "Hollywood has given new meaning to the phrase 'getting away with murder.'" Rubin Carter and his Hollywood accomplices have engaged in a hoax that is despicable. There are mountains of evidence that point to Carter as a stone-cold killer of these innocent people. If anyone at Universal Pictures wanted to find out what really happened that night and who Rubin Carter really was (and is) they could have done so. They chose not to because it would screw up their "Rubin Carter as victim of the white criminal justice system" story line. If Universal had an ounce of decency they would stop promoting Denzel Washington for the Academy Award in the "best actor" category. Denzel Washington, who has been very low key since the survivors of Carter's victims went public, should say he made a mistake by not doing enough research before he agreed to take this role. He should apologize for praising Carter at the Golden Globes as "pure love." Oprah, who dedicated an entire show to the movie, including a love fest with Denzel and Hurricane Carter, should do a show with the "survivors" telling what their lives have been like since Carter killed their loved ones. Rubin Carter should count his blessings that he's not still in jail and then search his soul while asking for forgiveness from some higher power for re -victimizing more innocent people. I don't know how he sleeps at night. These are just some of the things that must happen for the healing to begin. Anything less is a crime. What do you think? Fax me at (973) 509-1659 e-mail me at sadubato@aol.com.
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