In August of 1990, Yusef Salaam, then 15 years old, told the judge at his sentencing hearing that he looked at “this legal lynching as a test by my God Allah.” On Wednesday, nearly 23 years later, Salaam — an exonerated man, poet, author, and activist — has been declared the winner of a New York City Council primary in his home district of Harlem.
Salaam was one of the Central Park Five, a group of teens wrongfully convicted for the rape and assault of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in...
Salaam was one of the Central Park Five, a group of teens wrongfully convicted for the rape and assault of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in...
- 7/5/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Steven Lopez, a lesser-known co-defendant of the Central Park Five, had his related robbery conviction overturned Monday, July 25, The New York Times reports.
Lopez was 15 when he and the rest of the Central Park Five were arrested and charged with raping a white woman jogging through Central Park. While the Central Park Five — all teenagers who were either Black or Hispanic — were infamously convicted based on false confessions obtained by police, Lopez struck a deal with prosecutors, avoiding the rape charge, and instead pleading guilty to robbing a male jogger.
Lopez was 15 when he and the rest of the Central Park Five were arrested and charged with raping a white woman jogging through Central Park. While the Central Park Five — all teenagers who were either Black or Hispanic — were infamously convicted based on false confessions obtained by police, Lopez struck a deal with prosecutors, avoiding the rape charge, and instead pleading guilty to robbing a male jogger.
- 7/25/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Former New York City Assistant District Attorney Linda Fairstein found her record under question after Felicity Huffman portrayed her in When They See Us, the Ava DuVernay-directed Netflix series about the Central Park Five. Her decades of work in the sex crimes unit were the inspiration for Law & Order: Svu, but in the early Nineties she was also partly responsible for sending the Central Park Five — a group of black and Latino teens — to prison for a rape that, it turned out, they did not commit.
The Five were...
The Five were...
- 11/14/2019
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
The Exonerated Five, whose lives were depicted in Ava DuVernay's powerful Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, graced the Microsoft Theater at the 2019 Emmys. The series entered the Emmys ring this year with a breathtaking 10 nominations, including ones in the limited series and lead actor categories. In the latter section, Jharrel Jerome, who plays Korey Wise, would pick up a win, ending his speech by paying homage to the men whose stories of resilience became the show's foundation.
In 1989, a media blitz dubbed five Black and Latino teenage boys - Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Yusef Salaam - the "Central Park Five," a label that would become entrenched with a history of injustice and racism. In April 1989, a young woman named Trisha Meili was brutally raped and beaten while jogging in Central Park one night. Using intimidation tactics, the police cornered the teenagers into confessing that...
In 1989, a media blitz dubbed five Black and Latino teenage boys - Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Yusef Salaam - the "Central Park Five," a label that would become entrenched with a history of injustice and racism. In April 1989, a young woman named Trisha Meili was brutally raped and beaten while jogging in Central Park one night. Using intimidation tactics, the police cornered the teenagers into confessing that...
- 9/23/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Landmark series such as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” came to an end earlier this year, marking the last time the respective drama and comedy awards magnets would be eligible at the Emmys. While it seemed inevitable that those would score a number of noms on the 71st annual ballot, there were a lot of other spaces left up for grabs as previous heavy-hitters such as HBO’s “Westworld,” Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” sat out this year’s race.
With a record number of series and performers competing, as scripted programs alone ballooned to more than 500 shows this year, the Television Academy’s voting members had a tall order in selecting what they thought was the cream of the crop. See the full list of nominations.
Here, Variety breaks down the snubs and surprises of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.
With a record number of series and performers competing, as scripted programs alone ballooned to more than 500 shows this year, the Television Academy’s voting members had a tall order in selecting what they thought was the cream of the crop. See the full list of nominations.
Here, Variety breaks down the snubs and surprises of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.
- 7/16/2019
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
The NYPD detective who made the first arrests in the case that was made into the Netflix series When They See Us is claiming the film is inflammatory and full of lies.
Eric Reynolds arrested Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson in the notorious Central Park Five case. He told the Daily Mail that the film is riddled with inaccurate information.
Reynolds contends that the Central Park Five were not innocent bystanders, but were part of a pack of youths who went “wilding” in the park in April 1989. The night resulted in jogger Trisha Meili being raped and beaten. Reynolds also took issue with the film’s portrayal of the teenage youth being beaten during their arrest.
“Please, someone, show me the pictures of them,” Reynolds said to the Daily Mail. “Show me the injuries, show me the black eyes, show me the swollen faces, because every single one of them...
Eric Reynolds arrested Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson in the notorious Central Park Five case. He told the Daily Mail that the film is riddled with inaccurate information.
Reynolds contends that the Central Park Five were not innocent bystanders, but were part of a pack of youths who went “wilding” in the park in April 1989. The night resulted in jogger Trisha Meili being raped and beaten. Reynolds also took issue with the film’s portrayal of the teenage youth being beaten during their arrest.
“Please, someone, show me the pictures of them,” Reynolds said to the Daily Mail. “Show me the injuries, show me the black eyes, show me the swollen faces, because every single one of them...
- 6/29/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Image Source: Getty / Roy Rochlin
Prior to Disney's A Wrinkle in Time, Ava DuVernay shifted conversations around racial justice with films like 13 and Selma. When They See Us, her latest project now available to stream on Netflix, revisits the harrowing story of the Central Park Five in a five-part limited series. The details of the real case are ghastly, marking a grave miscarriage of justice and revealing how the deep legacy of racism plagued America's media and legal system in the late '80s.
While out on a jog the evening of April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old white woman named Trisha Meili was brutally assaulted and raped at Central Park. Her body was found in a ravine, covered in grime and blood. She spent 12 days in a coma, suffering from severe hypothermia and memory loss. Though medical professionals believed that she would die, Meili woke up. The trauma affected her memory,...
Prior to Disney's A Wrinkle in Time, Ava DuVernay shifted conversations around racial justice with films like 13 and Selma. When They See Us, her latest project now available to stream on Netflix, revisits the harrowing story of the Central Park Five in a five-part limited series. The details of the real case are ghastly, marking a grave miscarriage of justice and revealing how the deep legacy of racism plagued America's media and legal system in the late '80s.
While out on a jog the evening of April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old white woman named Trisha Meili was brutally assaulted and raped at Central Park. Her body was found in a ravine, covered in grime and blood. She spent 12 days in a coma, suffering from severe hypothermia and memory loss. Though medical professionals believed that she would die, Meili woke up. The trauma affected her memory,...
- 6/22/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Spencer Mullen Jun 19, 2019
Michael Sheen, When They See Us, Breath of the Wild 2, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
The teaser trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 secretly included a message about Ganondorf.
"It’s been a week since Nintendo dropped the first short trailer for its The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, but we’re still finding clues in this densely packed teaser. The latest spoiler seems to explain what Ganondorf was up to during the previous game, and how he’ll return in BotW 2. To figure it out, all fans have to do was decode a fictional language and translate some floating words in the teaser trailer. Easy, right?"
Read more at Inverse.
Here's how Michael Sheen became the internet's new boyfriend after his turn in Good Omens.
"Acclaimed Welsh actor Michael Sheen has become a focus of fan adoration after his turn as...
Michael Sheen, When They See Us, Breath of the Wild 2, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
The teaser trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 secretly included a message about Ganondorf.
"It’s been a week since Nintendo dropped the first short trailer for its The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, but we’re still finding clues in this densely packed teaser. The latest spoiler seems to explain what Ganondorf was up to during the previous game, and how he’ll return in BotW 2. To figure it out, all fans have to do was decode a fictional language and translate some floating words in the teaser trailer. Easy, right?"
Read more at Inverse.
Here's how Michael Sheen became the internet's new boyfriend after his turn in Good Omens.
"Acclaimed Welsh actor Michael Sheen has become a focus of fan adoration after his turn as...
- 6/19/2019
- Den of Geek
“When They See Us” is continuing to generate real-world consequences. Last week, Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein began to remove herself from public life amid backlash from her portrayal in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries. This week, a colleague finds herself in the same position. Variety reports that Elizabeth Lederer, a Manhattan district attorney at the time of the infamous trial, has resigned from a part-time teaching position at Columbia Law School.
Lederer, a lead prosecutor in the trial that falsely convicted five young men of rape, is portrayed by Vera Farmiga in the series. While continuing to prosecute rape and murder cases, she has gone on to teach law at the prestigious university. But with “When They See Us” bringing the 1989 case back into the limelight, students quickly called for her removal.
Columbia’s Black Law Students Association put out a blistering statement, referencing Lederer’s “harmful, racist tactics.
Lederer, a lead prosecutor in the trial that falsely convicted five young men of rape, is portrayed by Vera Farmiga in the series. While continuing to prosecute rape and murder cases, she has gone on to teach law at the prestigious university. But with “When They See Us” bringing the 1989 case back into the limelight, students quickly called for her removal.
Columbia’s Black Law Students Association put out a blistering statement, referencing Lederer’s “harmful, racist tactics.
- 6/14/2019
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Linda Fairstein, the Manhattan District Attorney's office prosecutor who took the lead in the controversial Central Park Five case, is speaking out against Ava DuVernay's When They See Us in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, claiming the Netflix miniseries based on the 1989 case omits crucial details and defames her.
Writing in the WSJ, Fairstein, who is portrayed onscreen by Felicity Huffman in When They See Us, says the four-part limited series omits a riot of more than 30-people that took place on April 19, 1989, the date of the attack on the "Central Park jogger" Trisha Meili. Fairstein contends that ...
Writing in the WSJ, Fairstein, who is portrayed onscreen by Felicity Huffman in When They See Us, says the four-part limited series omits a riot of more than 30-people that took place on April 19, 1989, the date of the attack on the "Central Park jogger" Trisha Meili. Fairstein contends that ...
- 6/11/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The fourth and final chapter of Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed Netflix miniseries When They See Us is entirely about the prison ordeal of Korey Wise, the oldest member of the Central Park Five. He had a vastly different experience than the other four boys after their conviction for the brutal 1989 rape and assault of Trisha Meili, solely because he was the only one old enough to go to prison with adults. Wise served 12 years in prison — five years longer than any of the others — before their eventual exoneration in 2002. But...
- 6/8/2019
- by Jamil Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Since her retirement, Linda Fairstein — a former prosecutor for the New York sex crimes unit — has built a career as a mystery author, penning more than 20 mystery novels in the best-selling Alexandra Cooper series, which follows the travails of a hard-boiled New York City prosecutor. Recently, however, she is best known for her role as chief prosecutor in the case involving Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Antron McCray and Yusef Salaam, the young men of color also known as the Central Park Five.
In 1989, the five young men (all...
In 1989, the five young men (all...
- 6/7/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
In the first episode of Ava DuVernay's must-watch Netflix limited series When They See Us, viewers see cops and detectives relentlessly interrogate teenagers Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana - commonly referred to as the Central Park Five - for up to 30 hours. Under the direction of Linda Fairstein, head of the Manhattan district attorney's sex crimes unit, the cops working the case coerced false confessions from four out of the five teens by lying to them about nonexistent evidence against the others and leading them to believe they were simply being interrogated as witnesses. Despite the absence of any DNA evidence linking them to the crime, all five teens were convicted and spent years behind bars.
Police videotaped the teens' confessions, but they failed to record the hours and hours that lead up to their eventual admission of guilt. And, although it is...
Police videotaped the teens' confessions, but they failed to record the hours and hours that lead up to their eventual admission of guilt. And, although it is...
- 6/7/2019
- by Caitlin Flynn
- Popsugar.com
Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They See Us has put the stories of the Central Park Five back in the news. Five teenagers served time - and were released between 1995 and 2002 - for a crime they didn't commit. Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana were wrongfully convicted of the brutal rape and beating of 28-year-old Trisha Meili, an investment banker who was attacked while running in Central Park on the evening of April 19, 1989. After the assault, Meili was in a coma for 12 days and woke up with no memory of what happened that night.
While Meili was unconscious, detectives interrogated the teens, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, for up to 30 hours until they provided false confessions. Despite the absence of any DNA evidence linking them to the horrific crime, Salaam, Richardson, McCray, Wise, and Santana were convicted and given prison sentences of between five and 15 years.
While Meili was unconscious, detectives interrogated the teens, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, for up to 30 hours until they provided false confessions. Despite the absence of any DNA evidence linking them to the horrific crime, Salaam, Richardson, McCray, Wise, and Santana were convicted and given prison sentences of between five and 15 years.
- 6/7/2019
- by Caitlin Flynn
- Popsugar.com
Charlamagne Tha God thinks Donald Trump doesn't need to apologize to the wrongfully convicted Central Park 5 ... he says Trump already made his bed, and now he needs to sleep in it forever. We got Charlamagne in NYC Thursday and asked him if Trump should say sorry for infamously taking out a huge newspaper ad calling for the death penalty after Trisha Meili, the Central Park jogger, was attacked. The famous radio host says an apology...
- 6/7/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Brought to the small screen with a talented cast, Ava DuVernay's limited Netflix series When They See Us is a haunting yet sharp and stirring project about the wrongful convictions of the adolescent boys who were known as the "Central Park Five." DuVernay, known for directing Selma and A Wrinkle in Time, shows the complicity of officials and journalists while illuminating the painful stories of the defendants and their families.
The real case was unjust on all sides. In 1989, Trisha Meili had been in Central Park when she was assaulted so badly that she entered a 12-day coma and recalled no memories of her attack. Immediately after, five black and Latino teenage boys - Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana - were interrogated and coerced into a fabricating stories that implicated them despite no DNA evidence tying them to the crime. When Matias Reyes,...
The real case was unjust on all sides. In 1989, Trisha Meili had been in Central Park when she was assaulted so badly that she entered a 12-day coma and recalled no memories of her attack. Immediately after, five black and Latino teenage boys - Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana - were interrogated and coerced into a fabricating stories that implicated them despite no DNA evidence tying them to the crime. When Matias Reyes,...
- 6/6/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Chris Jackson -- one of the actors in Ava DuVernay's new series about the Central Park 5 -- says it's up to viewers to decide how accurately they portrayed real people ... but most importantly, he wants viewers to be inspired. Chris was out in NYC Wednesday when we asked him why he wanted to be a part of "When They See Us," and aside from the obvious -- working with Ava -- he says the...
- 6/6/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
‘When They See Us’: Central Park Five Prosecutor Linda Fairstein Faces Backlash After Series Release
Thirty years after the criminal case that tore New York City apart and forever altered the lives of five innocent young men, former Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein is beginning to feel the heat for her involvement in the “Central Park Five” case, thanks to the recent release of Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries “When They See Us.”
Shadow and Act reports that Fairstein, “one of the central figures responsible for the wrongful prosecution and incarceration” of Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Yusef Salaam “is rapidly being removed from or resigning from her positions on boards, groups, and more” while retailers are being advised “to stop carrying the true crime novels she wrote based on her time as a prosecutor.”
In the series, Fairstein’s alleged coercion of the five young men known as the Central Park Five, which resulted in their issuing of false confessions...
Shadow and Act reports that Fairstein, “one of the central figures responsible for the wrongful prosecution and incarceration” of Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Yusef Salaam “is rapidly being removed from or resigning from her positions on boards, groups, and more” while retailers are being advised “to stop carrying the true crime novels she wrote based on her time as a prosecutor.”
In the series, Fairstein’s alleged coercion of the five young men known as the Central Park Five, which resulted in their issuing of false confessions...
- 6/5/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she's thrilled the Central Park 5 is getting a renewed spotlight, because it's starting a much-needed convo about injustice ... especially for young people of color. We got the New York congresswoman Tuesday on Capitol Hill, where we asked about the controversial case that played out in her own backyard in 1989, and the fact it's being depicted in Netflix's new show, "When They See Us," all these years later. Aoc -- who,...
- 6/4/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Michael K. Williams has complicated emotions about playing the father of Antron McCray, one of five teenagers unjustly accused of the 1989 brutal attack of a woman jogging in Central Park, in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series, “When They See Us.”
Williams remembers well when the attack and arrests occurred. He remembers feeling like something was off, despite the supposed confessions of the teenagers. And he acutely remembers the panic in New York at the time around “wilding,” packs of young men on the prowl to do violence — because he himself was a victim of this new urban scourge.
“I got wilded on,” said Williams, a 52-year-old distinguished character actor with credits in “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire,” who plays Bobby McCray in the new Netflix series. It was a freak attack one night in New York, he recalled in an emotional conversation with WaxWord.
Also Read: 'When They See Us':...
Williams remembers well when the attack and arrests occurred. He remembers feeling like something was off, despite the supposed confessions of the teenagers. And he acutely remembers the panic in New York at the time around “wilding,” packs of young men on the prowl to do violence — because he himself was a victim of this new urban scourge.
“I got wilded on,” said Williams, a 52-year-old distinguished character actor with credits in “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire,” who plays Bobby McCray in the new Netflix series. It was a freak attack one night in New York, he recalled in an emotional conversation with WaxWord.
Also Read: 'When They See Us':...
- 6/2/2019
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
The morning after Ava DuVernay’s four-part Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five, When They See Us, premiered at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater, she was in a daze. “I don’t drink and I don’t do any other kinds of substances,” she told Rolling Stone, “but I think I have a hangover.” She had the headache, but also the hazy memory of the community she’d felt the previous night, screening her labor of love in the neighborhood that raised the five teenagers wrongfully convicted of brutally...
- 5/29/2019
- by Jamil Smith
- Rollingstone.com
We have a chilling trailer for you today for a four part series coming to Netflix called When They See Us, a miniseries chronicling the case of the Central Park Five. In April of 1989, 28 year old Trisha Meili, a white women, was jogging through Central Park. She was violently attacked and raped and was left in a coma for 12 days. At the time, five teenage boys of color were charged with assault, robbery, riot, rape, sexual abuse, and attempted murder. This was despite the fact that none of their DNA matched the rape kit, and all of their confessions were thought to be false or coerced. All the young men were sentenced to between five and fifteen years in prison. A serial rapist later confessed to the crime, and the young men were exonerated. But the wrongful conviction and time in prison could not be erased.
The series follows their...
The series follows their...
- 4/22/2019
- by Jessica Fisher
- GeekTyrant
A terrible injustice alters the lives of five young men of color in the first trailer for Ava DuVernay’s upcoming series about the Central Park Five, When They See Us, premiering May 31st on Netflix.
The simple clip boasts a chilling sequence in which one of the boys mills about his room, grabs his jacket, goes outside then gets stopped by police and suddenly finds himself in a holding cell with the four other boys. The first half features narration from a mother talking about watching her son grow up,...
The simple clip boasts a chilling sequence in which one of the boys mills about his room, grabs his jacket, goes outside then gets stopped by police and suddenly finds himself in a holding cell with the four other boys. The first half features narration from a mother talking about watching her son grow up,...
- 3/1/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Director Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time) is in the process of developing her next project called Central Park Five and she has cast her leads. Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga and John Leguizamo are set to star in the five-episode narrative series that DuVernay will write and direct. The series will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color from Harlem who were convicted of a rape they did not commit.
The series will tell the story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise and the story "will span from the spring of 1989, when each was first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York."
Williams will play Bobby McCray, devoted father of accused teen Antron McCray. Farmiga will play Elizabeth Lederer, the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case.
The series will tell the story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise and the story "will span from the spring of 1989, when each was first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York."
Williams will play Bobby McCray, devoted father of accused teen Antron McCray. Farmiga will play Elizabeth Lederer, the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case.
- 7/10/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Tony Sokol Alec Bojalad Apr 19, 2019
Ana DuVernay's Central Park Five miniseries is now called When They See Us and has a trailer and release date.
The Central Park jogger case divided New York City at the end of the 80s. A group of young men attacked, raped and sodomized a complete stranger, Trisha Meili, leaving her in a coma for 12 days. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, were convicted.
Because of the press, it became embedded in the minds of New Yorkers, and beyond. Donald Trump put out $85,000 full-page ads calling for New York to reinstate the death penalty. Almost to this day, the president states with conviction that those Five Harlem teenagers are guilty. But the Central Park Five didn’t do it. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is developing a limited series with Neflix that will examine their conviction and exoneration.
When They See Us...
Ana DuVernay's Central Park Five miniseries is now called When They See Us and has a trailer and release date.
The Central Park jogger case divided New York City at the end of the 80s. A group of young men attacked, raped and sodomized a complete stranger, Trisha Meili, leaving her in a coma for 12 days. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, were convicted.
Because of the press, it became embedded in the minds of New Yorkers, and beyond. Donald Trump put out $85,000 full-page ads calling for New York to reinstate the death penalty. Almost to this day, the president states with conviction that those Five Harlem teenagers are guilty. But the Central Park Five didn’t do it. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is developing a limited series with Neflix that will examine their conviction and exoneration.
When They See Us...
- 7/6/2017
- Den of Geek
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