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Thirty years ago, a city of millions turned its hate on five teenage boys. The Central Park Five \u2014 Korey Wise<\/strong>, Kevin Richardson<\/strong>, Raymond Santana<\/strong>, Antron McCray<\/strong>\u00a0and Yusef Salaam <\/strong>\u2014 were accused of gang-raping a white jogger. They were vilified in the press, Donald Trump<\/strong> called for their execution and they were convicted of a range of crimes in two separate trials. Yet, they didn\u2019t do it. More than a decade after they were found guilty, the Central Park Five were exonerated of the crime.<\/p>\n Their story has become an example of injustices black and brown people experience in the legal system \u2013 four of the \u201cCentral Park Five\u201d are African-American, while one is Latino. Amid their lawsuit against Trump, here\u2019s what you need to know about the five men and their case:<\/p>\n On the night of April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili <\/strong>went for a jog in Central Park. Several hours later, the then-28-year-old investment banker was found in a ravine, according to AM New York<\/em><\/a>. She been raped and brutally beaten, suffering a fractured skull among other life-threatening injuries. The attack was one of several that took place during Central Park that night, and a roaming group of 30+ youths, aged 13-17, were suspected of committing this atrocious crime. After the police conducted their investigation, they charged seven teens in connection with the crimes, five of which would go on to be called the \u201cCentral Park Five.\u201d<\/p>\n The attack had left Trisa in a coma for 12 days. After she recovered and regained the ability to speak, she said she had no memory of the incident and was unable to identify who had attacked and raped her.<\/p>\n While the Central Park Five initially confessed to participating in the Central Park Attacks, the teens and their lawyers insisted they were coerced into giving false statements during their interrogations that last hours. Despite the lack of physical evidence tying them to the crime scene and the inconsistencies within the confessions (their descriptions of the jogger and the injuries didn\u2019t match the evidence, per Esquire<\/em><\/a>), the teens were convicted of various charges in two separate trials in 1990.<\/p>\n Yusef, Raymond, and Antron were found guilty of rape, assault, robbery and riot in the attack, as well as two separate assaults on two male joggers. Kevin was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, assault and robbery, and Korey was convicted of sexual abuse and assault. They served between 6 and 13 years, and all had been released by the time the truth came out.<\/p>\n In June 2002, Matias Reyes<\/strong> claimed that he was the one who assaulted and raped Trisha Meili<\/strong>. The murderer and serial rapist was serving 33 years to life for other crimes when he confessed to the crime. His DNA matched genetic material found at the crime scene, and according to the New York Times<\/em><\/a>, he \u201cknew what he was talking about, and that the five boys had not.\u201d<\/p>\n In December 2002, then-Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau recommended that all charges against the Central Park Five be thrown out. The convictions were vacated, a legal position as if no trial had taken place. Over a decade after they were found guilty, these five men were exonerated.<\/p>\n \u201cAt what point did we cross the line from the fine and noble pursuit of genuine civil liberties to the reckless and dangerous permissive atmosphere which allows criminals of every age to beat and rape a helpless woman and then laugh at her family\u2019s anguish? And why do they laugh? They laugh because they know that soon, very soon, they will be returned to the streets to rape and maim and kill once again \u2013 and yet face no great personal risk to themselves,\u201d Donald Trump wrote in a screed that ran in four of the city\u2019s most popular papers on May 1, 1989. The now-infamous ad, which ran in The New York Times, New Tork Post, New York Daily News\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0New York Newsday<\/em>, cost the then-real estate mogul $85,000, and it has been used as evidence of Trump\u2019s long-standing racism.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to hate these muggers and murderers,\u201d Donald said in the ad. \u201cThey should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence\u2026.<\/strong> unshackle [the police] from the constant chant of \u2018police brutality\u2019 \u2026 BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY AND BRING BACK OUR POLICE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that this famous person calling for us to die was very serious,\u201d Yuself Salaam told The Guardian <\/em><\/a>in 2016, adding that he didn\u2019t know who Trump was at the time. He said that after the ad ran, the number of death threats his family received increased significantly following that ad. Trump\u2019s ad has been credited with helping turn the city (and the nation) against the boys. As of 2019, Trump has yet to apologize or admit that he was wrong.<\/p>\n After their convictions\u2019 were vacated, the Central Park Five sued the city of New York for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress. The city, under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg<\/strong>, refused to settle the case, but when Bil de Blasio<\/strong> took over, the city settled the case for $41 million in 2014.<\/p>\n In October 2024, the Central Park Five filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump. During his debate against Kamala Harris, the Republican candidate made several statements about the five exonerated men, according to NBC News.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDefendant Trump falsely stated [at the debate] that Plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,\u201d the civil suit documents read, per the outlet. \u201cPlaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further, the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t<\/div>\nThe Central Park Five were accused of assaulting & raping a white female in 1989<\/strong><\/h2>\n
They were found guilty at first<\/h2>\n
But they didn\u2019t do it<\/h2>\n
Donald Trump publicly demanded that they be executed<\/h2>\n
They sued the city & Donald Trump afterward<\/h2>\n