Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Rape and Robbery (including burglary) |
Sentence: |
5 to 15 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
6.5 |
Year Crime: |
1989 |
Year Convicted: |
1990 |
Year Cleared: |
2002 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
New York |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Anton McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise were five juveniles wrongly convicted of raping a 28-year-old women in New York's Central Park on April 19, 1989. It was referred to in the media at the time as a brutal "wilding" by out of control youth. All five youths were arraigned on April 23, 1989 after falsely confessed under the pressure of police coercion. All five defendants were convicted in 1990 in two separate trials, based on their false confessions. In January 2002 a man confessed to the rape, and said no one else participated. The available physical evidence, including the attackers sperm and two of the attackers hairs were tested and matched the confessors DNA. Two blond hairs found on one of the youths and portrayed by prosecutors as belonging to the victim, were found after DNA testing in 2002 to not be from the victim. The victim was knocked unconscious and never identified any of the five innocent youths as her attacker. They were simply seen in Central Park around the time of her attack. However, it was established they were in another part of the park and could not have gotten to where she was attacked in time to have attacked her. Conviction vacated on December 19, 2002. The Central Park Five filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York City, and on September 5, 2014 a federal judge approved a settlement that totaled $40.75 million. Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Kevin Richardson were awarded $7.125 million for their years in prison, while Kharey Wise, who spent 13 years behind bars, was awarded $12.25 million." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession coerced by police pressure. The confessions were obviously fake because the details given by the youths didn't match what was known about the crime scene and the victim. No physical evidence implicated any of the youths in the crime. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Confession by the actual attacker in January 2002, and his guilt was established by his DNA matching sperm and hairs found on the victim and that was tested after his confession." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project at Cardozo School of Law (NY) |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$7.125 million (City of New York, Sept. 2014)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
14 |
Age When Released: |
21 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"It's Time' New Confession Casts Doubt on Convictions in 1989 Central Park Attack," ABC News, September 26, 2002" |
Information Location 1: |
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/centralpark_rape_020926.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Prosecutor Seeks the Reversal of Convictions in Jogger Case, Robert D. McFadden and Susan Saulny, NY Times, December 6, 2002" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/06/nyregion/06JOGG.html?pagewanted=1 |
Information Source 3: |
"Central Park Fives legal battle officially over as federal judge signs off on $41 million wrongful conviction settlement, By Dareh Gregorian (Staff writer), New York Daily News, September 5, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/central-park-legal-battle-officially-article-1.1929270 |
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org