Bob Dylan may have recounted the story, but this man experienced it firsthand.

Lesra Martin, as portrayed in the recent movie Hurricane, was the young man who reached out to boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who had been imprisoned for murders he did not commit. It was Martin and his guardians who were able to uncover the facts of the case that led to the acquittal of Carter.

Tonight, Martin will address the members of the University and St. Louis communities as the Black History Month keynote speaker. Martin will speak at 7 p.m. in the Saint Louis Room of the Busch Memorial Center. The event is free and open to the public.

“We were looking for someone educational and informative,” said Babette Thornton, Black Student Alliance president. BSA, along with the Great Issues Committee and the Multi-Cultural Formation Team, is sponsoring the speaker.

Martin is now a prosecutor, which may seem ironic to some since it was prosecutors whom he fought against in the Carter case. He will explain in his speech why he chose to be a prosecutor-to make sure that hard evidence convicted people, not circumstantial and biased evidence.

The cost to bring Martin is around $10,000, a typical price for a speaker of his magnitude, and is being underwritten by the sponsoring groups.

Prior to his speech, Martin will meet with the Black Law Student Association for a reception.