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When they hear us: the pushback of linda fairstein against “when they see us”
Linda Fairstein, the woman who oversaw the prosecution of Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, and Korey Wise, famously known as the Central Park Five, is facing a media storm of backlash for her mishandling of the case thirty years ago. She’s really upset about it. Cue the violin.
In 1989, the four African American and one Latino boy, aged 14–16, were arrested and subsequently tried and convicted on false charges for the rape of a 28-year-old white woman jogging in Central Park. The five teenagers, who did not know each other, were beaten, bullied, deprived of food and water, and coerced into confessions by detectives. They were also interrogated without lawyers or the presence of their parents. Convicted in 1990, each teenager spent between 6–13 years in prison — their youth and innocence stolen. Their sentences were vacated in 2003 after the real rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime in prison in 2002. He detailed his attack and said he did it alone. His DNA also matched the semen found on the victim back in 1989.
Because they were five Black and Brown youth accused of raping a White woman, they were vilified by the court of public opinion and their heads were literally called for by the White American lynch mob. Donald Trump called for the death…
