TORONTO -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the former American boxer who became a global champion for the wrongfully convicted after spending almost 20 years in prison for a triple murder he didnt commit, died at his home in Toronto on Sunday. He was 76. His long-time friend and co-accused, John Artis, said Carter died in his sleep after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. "Its a big loss to those who are in institutions that have been wrongfully convicted," Artis told The Canadian Press. "He dedicated the remainder of his life, once we were released from prison, to fighting for the cause." Artis quit his job stateside and moved to Toronto to act as Carters caregiver after his friend was diagnosed with cancer nearly three years ago. During the final few months, as Carters health took a turn for the worse, Artis said the man who was immortalized in a Bob Dylan song and a Hollywood film came to grips with the fact that he was dying. "He tried to accomplish as much as he possibly could prior to his passing," Artis said, noting Carters efforts earlier this year to bring about the release of a New York City man incarcerated since 1985 -- the year Carter was freed. "He didnt express very much about his legacy. Thatll be established for itself through the results of his work. Thats primarily what he was concerned about -- his work," Artis said. Born on May 6, 1937, into a family of seven children, Carter struggled with a hereditary speech impediment and was sent to a juvenile reform centre at 12 after an assault. He escaped and joined the Army in 1954, experiencing racial segregation and learning to box while in West Germany. Carter then committed a series of muggings after returning home, spending four years in various state prisons. He began his pro boxing career in 1961. He was fairly short for a middleweight, but his aggression and high punch volume made him effective. Carters life changed forever one summer night in 1966, when two white men and a white woman were gunned down in a New Jersey Bar. Police were searching for what witnesses described as two black men in a white car, and pulled over Carter and Artis a half-hour after the shootings. Though there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime and eyewitnesses at the time of the slayings couldnt identify them as the killers, Carter was convicted along with Artis. Their convictions were overturned in 1975, but both were found guilty a second time in a retrial a year later. After 19 years behind bars, Carter was finally freed in 1985 when a federal judge overturned the second set of convictions, citing a racially biased prosecution. Artis was also exonerated after being earlier paroled in 1981. Carter later moved to Toronto and became the founding executive director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, which has secured the release of 18 people since 1993. Win Wahrer, a director with the association, remembers Carter as the "voice and the face" of the group. "I think its because of him that we got the credibility that we did get, largely due to him -- he was already a celebrity, people knew who he was," she said. "He suffered along with those who were suffering." Though Carter left the organization in 2005, the phone never stopped ringing with requests for him, Wahrer said. "He was an eloquent speaker, a passionate speaker. I remember the first time I ever heard him I knew I was in the presence of a man that could move mountains just by his presence and his words and his passion for what he believed in," she said. Carter went on to found another advocacy group, Innocence International. "He wanted to bring people together. That was his real purpose in life -- to get people to understand one another and to work together to make changes," said Wahrer. "It was so important for him to make a difference. And I think he did. I think he accomplished what he set out to do." Association lawyer James Lockyer, who has known Carter since they were involved in the wrongful conviction case of Guy Paul Morin, remembered how Carter called him just before sitting down with then-president Bill Clinton for a screening of his 1999 biopic "The Hurricane." The call was to ask for advice on how to bring the U.S. leaders attention to the case of a Canadian woman facing execution in Vietnam. "Even though this was sort of a pinnacle moment of Rubins life -- to sit at the White House with the president and his wife on either side of him watching a film about him -- he wasnt really thinking about himself," said Lockyer. "He was thinking about this poor woman who was sitting on death row in Vietnam that we were trying to save from the firing squad." The film about Carters life starred Denzel Washington, who received an Academy Award nomination for playing the boxer turned prisoner. On Sunday, when told of Carters death, Washington said in a statement: "God bless Rubin Carter and his tireless fight to ensure justice for all." Carters fight continued to the very end. Never letting up even as his body was wracked with cancer, Carter penned an impassioned letter to a New York paper in February calling for the conviction of a man jailed in 1985 to be reviewed -- and reflected on his own mortality in the process. "If I find a heaven after this life, Ill be quite surprised. In my own years on this planet, though, I lived in hell for the first 49 years, and have been in heaven for the past 28 years," he wrote. "To live in a world where truth matters and justice, however late, really happens, that world would be heaven enough for us all." Adidas NMD R1 Hombre Baratas . Smith has spent the last three seasons with the Rockies, playing both left and right field, and has a .275 batting average with 51 homers and 181 RBIs in 487 major league games. Adidas NMD R1 Hombre Rebajas . It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate. http://www.baratasnmd.com/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Adidas GSG Baratas . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. Comprar Adidas Ultra Boost Baratas . An offseason trade acquisition from Kansas City, Greinkes National League debut was delayed by a non-baseball injury in the spring, and he was 0-1 after dropping an 8-0 decision at Atlanta in his initial appearance with the Brewers on May 4.MINNEAPOLIS -- Josh Willinghams time in Minnesota could be waning, with the trade deadline approaching and the veteran outfielder in the final year of his contract. His swing is back, even if he might be going. Willinghams tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning sent the Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night. "I felt better, yeah, so hopefully I can keep going and help us win some games. Thats my goal," Willingham said. As for the possibility of being dealt? "I pay seriously zero attention to it," Willingham said, while his three young sons played around in the clubhouse behind him, focused on their Popsicles and blissfully oblivious to a scenario in which their father would find himself on a new team later this summer. Kurt Suzuki had a two-run double among his three hits, Trevor Plouffe hit an RBI double and the Twins beat the Indians at home for the first time in more than 11 months. "Coming off the All-Star break and losing three in a row, you obviously dont feel real good about yourself. So we needed a big win," Willingham said. Suzuki, a first-time All-Star selection who was the catcher for the ninth inning of the American Leagues victory here at Target Field last week, posted his ninth three-hit game this season. He raised his batting average to .311 and is 25 for 63 in his last 17 games. In another All-Star game reprise, Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 26 chances. One week ago, the Home Run Derby was delayed by rain on a cool, autumn-like evening. Tack on about 30 degrees and thick humidity, and thats what the conditions were like for this series opener, which began with a first-pitch temperature of 89 degrees. Willingham sent the sweaty Twins fans home happy with his dead-pull line drive that just cleared the left-field wall against Bryan Shaw (4-2), his ninth homer and only his second this month. "We were all blowing really hard in the dugout for that to get out," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Shaw threw a full-count slider. "Not where I was trying to put it," he said. Casey Fien (5-4) picked up the victory, despite allowing an RRBI single by Roberto Perez in the top of the eighth that cost Twins starter Kris Johnson his first career win.dddddddddddd "Mine will maybe come later. Maybe not. You never know. Its the Twins victory that counts the most," said Johnson, who was sent back to Triple-A Rochester after the game to make room for Tuesdays starter, rookie right-hander Yohan Pino. Teetering on the brink of veteran-sell-off mode before the trade deadline, the Twins emerged from the All-Star break by being swept by Tampa Bay. But they snapped back from that and, in their first time hosting the Indians this year, ended a six-game home losing streak to their division rivals. The Indians lost shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to spasms in his lower back after two innings. Chris Dickerson delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in his place, and Mike Aviles quickly shifted back to his natural shortstop spot after his first start of the season in centre field. Yan Gomes hit third, having not batted higher than fifth all season and getting most of his time in the seventh slot, and hit an RBI double. Hes 10 for 21 with five RBIs in his last six games. Johnson finished five innings in his third major league start, his longest appearance yet. Rookie T.J. House, who made eight starts earlier this season, was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take the mound in Minnesota. House also completed five innings, giving up three runs. NOTES: The Twins tabbed Pino (1-2, 4.39 ERA) to pitch Tuesday, his sixth major league start. Pino will be recalled from Rochester for the third time in a little more than a month. The Indians will also bring their starter, RHP Danny Santana, up from Triple-A. Santana (1-4, 5.53) was sent to Columbus on May 16. ... Twins 1B Joe Mauer (strained muscle on his right side) took grounders before the game. Gardenhire, asked whether he had ever hurt an oblique in his playing days, quipped, "I didnt even know I had one. I never swung good enough to really actually pull an oblique." ... Indians All-Star Michael Brantley started the game on the bench for a break and hit a pinch-hit double in the eighth. He stayed in the game in centre field. ' ' '