After several months of waiting for a judge to finalize their settlement money, the Central Park Five are now celebrating amongst themselves.
Last Friday, a federal court judge signed off on a $41 million settlement with the city of New York, the NYDailyNews has learned.
Wrongfully convicted Central Park Five members–Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusuf Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise–sued the city in 2003 for $250 million after serving 24 years for a brutal rape none of them committed.
On April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili was attacked as she jogged thru Central Park, resulting in the subsequent arrests of the five Black and Latino teens at the time. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, the police desperately–and immorally–forced the boys to confess to the crime. Serial criminal Matias Reyes later confessed to the crime as he served a prison sentence. DNA evidence eventually backed up his claims.
The deal “is an act of justice for those five men that is long overdue,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement after the filing. “We can finally put this case behind us, and these five men and their families can begin to heal these wounds and move forward.”
The Central Park Five settlement lawsuit was highly contested by the former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration. Donald Trump has also publicly spoken against the quintet being awarded such a large sum of money.
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Photo: Facebook/Central Park Five
