sixties.net/sixties.htm ." In the September 27, 1974, edition of The New York Times, Sewelyn Raab, depicts the city of Patterson as being a " racially troubled city." He goes on to say: "During the mid-nineteen-sixties, the city was the scene of several racial disorders touched off by charges of discrimination and police brutality. In his work, Rubin Hurricane Carter and the American Justice System, published by Rutgers University Press, Paul Wice effectively sets the tone of America and Patterson in 1966. "In June of 1966 America was tensed for a summer of racial unrest. The watts riots in Los Angeles, California, in August 1965 served notice that other urban centers would likely undergo similar disturbances. The poverty and racism underlying these outbursts had not abated, and the long, hot summer about to commence was expected to ignite many additional urban conflagrations. Patterson, New Jersey, a grimy, economically declining smokestack city with a history of strained race relations and rust-belt malaise, was a prime candidate for a Watts-like disturbance." Paul wice further states: "Despite the growth of the black and Hispanic communities during the 1960's, the city government remained under the control of the long-time Irish-American-dominated Democratic political machine. By the mid-sixties tensions between the black and Latino neighborhoods and city hall had reached the breaking point. Critics described Paterson as a police state. There were enough incidents of police brutality against minorities during the 1960's to convene a Passaic County Grand Jury to investigate the charges.".
The two trials and appeals of the Rubin Carter and John Artis case, forces one to take a candid look at our judicial system. While out outwardly appearing to be fair and just too all individuals, the Carter and Artis ordeal clearly show us a different side. In the September 21, 1974 issue of The New York Times, Raab Sewelyn cites many noteworthy reasons to doubt that Carter's conviction was just.
