Four members of the group nicknamed the “Central Park Five” and now known as the “Exonerated Five” took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to speak out against Donald Trump.
The group has already had dealings with the former president: After their wrongful arrest in 1989 for the rape of a jogger in New York’s Central Park, Trump took out full-page ads in major newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
After Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise were introduced by Reverend Al Sharpton, two of them took to the podium to remind Americans how Trump was involved in this case – and that all these years later, he still has not accepted their innocence.
“Thirty-five years ago, my friends and I were locked up for a crime we didn’t commit. Our youth was stolen from us. Every day when we walked into the courtroom, people yelled at us. They threatened us. Because of Donald Trump,” said Wise, who now advocates for criminal justice reform.
“We were innocent children, but we spent a total of 41 years in prison,” Wise continued. “Reverend Al Sharpton stood by our side. And I’m proud to stand by his side today. Vice President Kamala Harris has also fought for justice. I know she will do the same as president. Now prove that message.”
Reverend Al Sharpton (center) walks with Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson – members of the Central Park Five who were rehabilitated after being wrongly convicted of rape as teenagers and imprisoned for years – on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
MIKE SEGAR/AFP via Getty Images
Salaam, who has been a New York City Councilor for the 9th district in Harlem since January, then noted that Trump “still stands by the original guilty verdict” – even though the perpetrator had confessed.
All five wrongful convictions were overturned in late 2002. But that did not stop Trump from insisting on the men’s guilt – even during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“He ignores the scientific evidence instead of admitting he was wrong,” Salaam said, referring to DNA evidence that confirmed a man named Matias Reyes committed the rape and assault. “He has never changed and he never will. This man believes hate is the driving force in America. That is not the case.”
Salaam then urged everyone to support Harris and Walz’s ticket, allowing America to “finally say goodbye to this hateful man.”
“We will say what I said after seven long years of unjust imprisonment,” Salaam concluded, alluding to Martin Luther King, Jr. “‘Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last!'”
