Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's co-accused remembers his friend

As the famous song goes, "he could have been the champion of the world." But instead, Rubin Carter was imprisoned for 19 years - for three murders he had nothing to do with. When he was released, he moved to Toronto. And until his death yesterday, he was a tireless advocated for the wrongfully convicted. His co-accused and good friend, John Artis, speaks to Carol about "the Hurricane."

Rubin Carter knocks out Florentino Fernandez of Cuba in the first round of a middleweight bout in 1962 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Marty Lederhandler/AP

Mr. Carter's case, documented in the 1975 Bob Dylan song, "Hurricane" was "one of the most egregious violations of constitutional rights" the judge the exonerated them had ever seen, John Artis tells Carol. But not before the pair had served more than 19 years in prison, folllowing their 1967 conviction by an all-white jury.

The day Rubin Carter was released from prison, he moved to Canada, Mr. Artis says. This was because he wanted to leave the U.S., and because a dedicated group of Canadians in Woodstock, Ontario, had helped make the legal case for his release.

He became a Canadian citizen, and, as the Executive Director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted for more than a decade, Rubin Carter fought tirelessly for those he believed were imprisoned unjustly.

Listen to Carol's interview with John Artis by clicking the link above.