Lazarus and the Hurricane - Sam Chaiton

This astounding true story begins in 1966, when in a flagrant miscarriage of justice, middleweight boxing contender Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter is sentenced to life for the murder of three men in a New Jersey bar.
Thirteen years later, in a Brooklyn ghetto a group of Canadians meet Lesra (Lazarus) Martin, a functionally illiterate child who wins their hearts. They take Lesra to Canada, adopt and educate him. Education opens new worlds for Lesra, and one of the first books he reads is The 16th Round by Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter. It was a book destined to change Lesra's life forever, and the lives of his entire adopted family.
Outraged and moved by Rubin's story Lesra and his Canadian friends seek him out and determine to take up his cause. The inspiring relationship which ensued forms the heart of LAZARUS AND THE HURRICANE - a riveting legal drama, a fast-paced murder investigation and a moving account of hope and humanity and the indomitability of the human spirit.