Lesra Martin (born April 11, 1963) is an American-Canadian lawyer, motivational speaker and writer. He is perhaps best known for helping to bring about the release of former boxer Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter.
Background
Martin was born into a troubled family in 1963. Although his family had been middle class, his parents' drinking problems and misfortunes made them move from a comfortable home in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, to the violent streets of Bedford–Stuyvesant and Bushwick.
Martin started to work when he was ten years old to help provide for his family. Consequently, despite his regular school attendance, he remained
illiterate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...
until he was 16 years old.
His life changed course when a group of Canadian entrepreneurs offered to help with his education in Canada after realizing his potential. He graduated high school in Ontario and received a BA (Honours) in Anthropology from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
. He went on to obtain a law degree from Dalhousie University. He was briefly enrolled in the doctoral program in Sociology at the University of Toronto, but left that program. After campaigning for admittance into many of the top law programs in Canada (including the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall (York University)), he was admitted to and joined the law program at Dalhousie University. Since then, he has practiced law as a prosecutor in
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...
. Currently, he continues to practice law in Kamloops, as a civil lawyer, specializing in personal injury.
Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter
Martin is notable for his involvement in the release of former boxer, Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter in 1985 after serving almost 20 years in prison for a 1966 murder that he had nothing to do with. His involvement began after he read Carter's autobiography ''The Sixteenth Round''. Martin wrote to Carter, in prison, in 1980 and met with him at the prison where he was incarcerated in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Haddon Lee Sarokin who ruled that the case was based on racism and the withholding of evidence that could have helped Carter. The story of Carter's release including Martin's involvement, is portrayed in the film '' The Hurricane'' starring Denzel Washington although extensive portions of the account are fictionalized; Martin was portrayed in the film by
Vicellous Reon Shannon
Vicellous Reon Shannon (born April 11, 1971) is an American actor known for his portrayal of Lesra Martin in the 1999 film '' The Hurricane'', and Keith Palmer, the son of presidential candidate David Palmer in the Fox television series '' 2 ...
.
Media appearances
Martin has appeared on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...
'', ''
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...
'' on CNN, and has been the subject of a
National Film Board
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...
production, ''The Journey of Lesra Martin'', directed by Cheryl Foggo.