Detective Della Pesca was Rubin Hurricane Carter's "Javert" (see Les Miserables).

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2000)

This film, "The Hurricane" is one example where the "hype" was not overdone. Denzel Washington did a masterful job here, both in preparation for the role, and then execution of it. When you see interviews with the real Hurricane on the DVD "extras" you realize how well Washington captured this role. I wish I could rate it 8.5, but settled for "8" of 10, but a very strong 8. This is based on a true story, however some charcaters are created or consolidated, and in truth the "real killers" were never found, and some stilll believe Carter murdered the three people he went to prison for.
I didn't particularly like the style of the editing where the film jumped from far past, to present, to near past, to present, etc - it detracted from the story because you had to think "OK, where did this happen." However, the story is fairly simple - two gunmen kill 3 people in a bar at 2:30AM and the evil and PREJUDICED detective Della Pesca, who had a history with Carter since he was a young boy in trouble, conspires to falsely convict Carter of the crimes.
CAUTION - POSSIBLE SPOILERS... Della Pesca in a real sense is the Javert of "Les Miserables" who relentlessly hunts down Valjean even after he becomes a good and exemplary citizen. Carter, when he was first arrested, had just come out of the Army where he had been a paratrooper and as a fighter became all-Army welterweight champ. But Della Pesca said, "you still owe me time" for having escaped from the state home for boys and joined the Army, two years before he was to be released at 21. It was the 8 years at the reform school, from age 11 to 19, that Carter says "I learned how to maime, butcher, and fight for my survival."
After that second prison time, Carter is falsly, according to the film, arrested for the 3 murders, framed by Della Pesca. Carter fails to get a fair trial in NJ, witnesses disappear, relevant evidence is not admitted, he gets 3 life terms, and his several appeals fail. In prison, he writes a book, "The 16th Round", which he views as his only way to get the "true" story out to the public. A young, struggling black student, Lesra, comes upon a used copy of the book, bought it for 25 cents, used it to sharpen his reading skills, wrote a letter to Carter, then spoke with him by phone, then visited him. He and his 3 Canadian "tutors" eventually move to NJ and vow "to stay here until we take you with us", they told Carter.
So, the real "meat" of the drama is twofold. First, how Carter builds the inner strength to endure 22+ years of prison and not play by the rules of the prison. And second, how these 4 Canadians investigate and succeed where many lawyers before them had failed. In the end, in 1985, after 22 years in prison for the murders, they take a very risky path with an appeal to federal court, bypassing NJ courts. It works, the judge ordered Carter freed. Prosecution appeals failed, Carter moved to Canada where he resides today. His young friend Lazra, who also is included in the DVD extras, in an attorney.
I like well-made films based on important historical events, and this one qualifies. As other reviewers commented, this film is a bit unbalanced, of course focusing more on Carter's POV, and ignoring some important development of other characters. Still, I rate it a high "8" for overall impact, and an important film to recall how some past injustices so greatly affected the lives of others.