THE HURRICANE (1999)

Biographical drama directed by Norman Jewison and starring Denzel Washington as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a middleweight boxer who was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in a New Jersey bar in 1966.  Sentenced to three life terms, Carter spent nearly two decades in prison fighting his conviction, which was largely driven by racial bias and police misconduct. 

His case gained international attention after he published his autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, which was read by Lesra Martin, a teenager from Brooklyn living with a group of Canadian activists.  Lesra and his mentors became obsessed with proving Carter's innocence, conducting their own investigation and providing new evidence that eventually led to the overturning of Carter's conviction and his release in 1985.  The film highlights the flaws in the justice system and the power of compassion and determination in securing justice.