CHICAGO — The Rev. Al Sharpton joined members of the Central Park Five onstage at Thursday's Democratic National Convention.
The five men were falsely accused of beating and raping a woman in a New York park in the late ’80s.
The crime dominated headlines in the city, inflaming racial tensions as police rounded up Black and Latino men and boys for interrogation. Former President Donald Trump, then just a brash real estate executive in the city, took out large ads in newspapers that implored New York to bring back the death penalty.
The boys were charged and convicted — and later exonerated after serving time in prison. But the ads paid for by Trump drew a lot of attention and helped build his celebrity.
The teens convicted in the attack served between five and 12 years in prison before the case was reexamined.
A serial rapist and murderer was eventually linked to the crime through DNA evidence and a confession. The convictions of the Central Park Five were vacated in 2002 and they received a combined $41 million settlement from the city.
“Our youth was stolen from us,” said Korey Wise, who blamed Trump for some of the harsh treatment they received from the public. “He spent $85,000 on an ad ... calling for my execution.”
Trump even today sidesteps calls to apologize.
Antron McCray was the only member of the group not on stage on Thursday.
