Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, former professional boxer who became famous as an advocate for the wrongly convicted, died on Sunday in Toronto at the age of 76.After himself spending 19 years in prison for a triple murder he didn’t commit; he had chosen to help those like him.

Carter’s struggle for freedom got him recognition in a number of books, a Bob Dylan song and a Hollywood film. Carter had a special connection to Canada even though he was born in the US. He settled in Canada following his prison release which was possible with the help of a group of Canadians.

His work continued until his death. In a recent , Carter said he was on his deathbed, but that his “final wish” was for Brooklyn’s district attorney to grant a hearing to David McCallum, a man who has been imprisoned for 28 years for a murder Carter said he didn’t commit.

An all-white jury had convicted Carter and his ally in 1966 and he was sentenced to three life terms in prison.

While in prison, Carter penned his autobiography: The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to #45472.

His life was given greater exposure with the release of the 1999 film ‘The Hurricane’ which starred Denzel Washington and was directed by Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison.

“If I find a heaven after this life, I’ll be quite surprised,” he wrote in his letter printed in the New York Daily News. “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.

“To live in a world where truth matters and justice, however late, really happens, that world would be heaven enough for us all.”