The night of April 19, 1989, should've been like any other; but for five Black and Hispanic teens, it originated one of the most famous miscarriages of justice in modern American history.
That evening, at around 9:00 p.m., roughly 30 teenage boys entered New York City’s Central Park, causing a ruckus and allegedly assaulting and intimidating parkgoers. Nearby, a young white woman jogging through the park was hit over the head, dragged nearly 300 feet from the roadway, beaten unconscious and sexually assaulted. When people discovered Patricia "Trisha" Meili at around 1:30 a.m. the following day, she was barely alive and had lost approximately 80% of her blood.
Fourteen-year-olds Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson, 15-year-olds Antron McCray and Yusef Salaam and 16-year-old Korey Wise were among the boys taken into custody for Meili's attack. After hours of interrogation at the Central Park Precinct, the boys, under duress, confessed to assaulting her; however, they recanted their admissions, stating they only confessed under the premise that they could go home afterward.
From April 27–28, 1989, all five teens were indicted on counts including rape, assault, attempted murder and rioting. Wise, being 16, was charged as an adult and sent to Rikers Island prison in N.Y.C., and the remaining four were taken into juvenile facilities.
The "Central Park Five," as the media dubbed them, maintained their innocence since that fateful night. Each served five to 13 years in prison until, in 2002, DNA evidence set them free.
Here's where the "Exonerated Five" are today.
01of 09
Innocence Lost
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Salaam (pictured here in 1990) was 14 when jurors found him guilty of rape, assault, robbery and riot in connection with the assault of 28-year-old investment banker Trisha Meili, as well as separate assaults on two male joggers. Salaam served nearly seven years in an upstate juvenile detention facility — all the while, he was innocent.
In an October 2016 editorial published in The Washington Post, Salaam said the police officers interrogated and deprived him and his four codefendants of food, drink and sleep for more than 24 hours.
The married father continues to speak about his ordeal, and in 2016, Salaam received a lifetime achievement award from President Barack Obama. His memoir, Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice, was published in 2021 and calls for prison reform.
02of 09
An Accused Man-Turned-Advocate
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Just 16 when jurors convicted him of assault, sexual abuse and riot, Wise was sentenced to five to 15 years behind bars and released after serving 12. After the verdict was read, Wise turned his attention toward the prosecutors. "You're going to pay for this," Wise shouted in court. "Jesus is going to get you. You made this up."
Wise still lives in New York City and is often asked to speak about his experience. Through his work with the Innocence Project, Wise also advocates for the rights of the wrongly convicted as well as criminal justice reform.
03of 09
A Young Life Stolen
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Richardson was 14 when he was accused of attacking and sexually assaulting the Central Park jogger. Eventually, he was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, assault and robbery and served more than five years for a crime he did not commit.
Like Wise, Richardson also does work for the Innocence Project, advocating for the rights of others who've been wrongfully accused.
04of 09
Giving Back After Losing So Much
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Santana was 14 when he lost five years of his life following his conviction on rape, assault, robbery and riot charges. Today, Santana lives in Atlanta with his daughter.
In 2018, the filmmaker launched a clothing line called Park Madison NYC. The following year, the company announced a portion of the proceeds from selling its "Brotherhood Tee" — bearing the first names of the "Central Park Five" — would go toward the Innocence Project, according to its Facebook page.
05of 09
Forgetting the Past
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McCray (right) was 15 when he was tried and convicted on rape, assault, robbery and riot charges. Sentenced to five to 10 years in prison, he was released after serving six.
He is living down South, where he's raising his children.
06of 09
A Trump Connection
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Years before becoming president, prominent New Yorker Donald Trump took a personal interest in implicating the Central Park Five.
Days after the attack on the jogger, Trump paid for full-page ads in four major newspapers advocating for the reinstatement of the death penalty. The ads did not specifically mention the "Central Park Five" but called for a beefed-up police force and stiffer penalties for offenders.
During his presidential run, Trump reinforced his earlier position, telling CNN in October 2016, "They admitted they were guilty. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty."
Even while president, Trump still wouldn’t apologize for the 1989 ads. In June 2019, White House correspondent April Ryan asked Trump via Twitter and in person about the exonerated men and he repeated his stance that “They admitted their guilt.”
07of 09
Free at Last
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The reputations of the group once known as the "Central Park Five" were restored when, in June 2002, a convicted murderer and serial rapist named Matias Reyes — who was then already serving a life sentence for other crimes — admitted to attacking Meili. His DNA was subsequently matched to genetic material recovered from the scene.
After their convictions were formally vacated, the five wrongly convicted men filed a civil suit against the city, which settled in 2014 for a reported $41 million.
In 2016, the men received an additional $3.9 million settlement from the New York State Court of Claims.
08of 09
Accused — Then Exonerated
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The "Exonerated Five" (from left: Richardson, McCray, Santana, Wise and Salaam) are seen together at the premiere of the 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us, based on the real events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case.
09of 09
Legacy
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As their story became part of the national conversation thanks to the popularity of the Netflix series, the Exonerated Five received a standing ovation at the BET Awards in July 2019. "Your truth is the foundation your legacy will be built on," Santana said.
In December 2022, ABC News reported that a Central Park entrance was renamed “Gate of the Exonerated” to honor the five men whose lives were forever changed because of their wrongful conviction. Rev. Al Sharpton, who was at the ceremony alongside N.Y.C. Mayor Eric Adams and members of the Exonerated Five, remarked, "As long as there's a Central Park, the story will be told about these five young men."
