Why are the Central Park Five suing Donald Trump? | News about Donald Trump

In 1990, five black Latin American teenagers – Kevin Richardson (14), Raymond Santana (14), Antron McCray (15), Yusef Salaam (15), and Korey Wise (16) – who became famous as the Central Park Five were unfairly treated as the “Central Park Five”. convicted of assaulting and raping runner Trisha Meili, the 28-year-old white woman remained in a coma for 12 days after the incident in April 1989.

Then, acquitted, all five of them – now all over 50 – now find themselves in the middle of another legal battle: On Monday, five men filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania suing former President Donald Trump, accusing him of “false and defamatory” statements , which he delivered during the September presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump is the Republican candidate in the November election, and Harris is the Democratic candidate.

It’s the latest chapter in the long-running saga involving the Central Park Five (now sometimes known as the “Exonerated Five”) and Trump, who once called for their execution in an infamous series of ads.

So what is the latest lawsuit about, what is the Trump campaign’s response, and what is Trump’s history with the Central Park Five?

Why are the Central Park Five suing Trump?

During the September debate, Trump said that during the 1989 hearing, the teenagers “admitted, they said, they pleaded guilty. And I replied, well, if they confess, they severely injure the person and ultimately kill him.

However, no one was killed in the 1989 attack. Meili was severely beaten and fell into a coma, and is still struggling with the long-term effects of the attack, but she survived.

Trump was also wrong to claim that the Central Park Five pleaded guilty: throughout the trial, they all insisted they were innocent, as their lawyers stressed in their lawsuit.

The lawsuit said Trump’s debate comments were delivered “carelessly” and “with reckless disregard of their falseness.”

Four members of the Central Park Five stated in their statements to police during interrogation that they took part in the robbery. However, many legal experts accused the interrogators of coercing the five young men, causing four of them to falsely confess to attacking and raping Meila.

Their sentences ranged from six to thirteen years.

In 2002, the Central Park Five were acquitted after Matias Reyes, a serial rapist already sentenced to life in prison for unrelated crimes, pleaded guilty to assaulting Meili.

Reyes’ DNA matched evidence collected at the crime scene, prompting Judge Charles J. Tejada of the New York State Supreme Court to grant a motion to vacate the convictions of the Central Park Five. In 2014, five men sued the city of New York in a civil lawsuit. The city agreed to a settlement worth $41 million.

In 2016, the men received another $3.9 million in a settlement from the New York State Court of Claims.

What is Trump’s story on the Central Park Five?

The attack on Meili caused widespread outrage and anger: she was found naked and gagged, her skull was so fractured that her left eye fell out of its socket.

Amid the feverish media attention on the case, Trump took out full-page, 600-word ads with his signature in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post and New York Newsday advocating for reinstating the sentence. death.

The ads were titled: “Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!”

The ads said: “I want to hate these robbers and murderers. They should be made to suffer and when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others can think long and hard before committing a crime or act of violence.”

Despite later suspending his sentences, Trump never apologized for the ads.

How did the Trump campaign respond to the new lawsuit?

Plaintiffs’ attorney Shanin Specter said in a statement that Trump’s remarks “cast them in a harmful, false light and intentionally cause them emotional distress.”

But in a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the lawsuit “yet another frivolous election interference lawsuit.” He claimed the lawsuit was intended to distract “Americans from Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal agenda and failed campaign.”

“Lyin’ Kamala’s allies’ frantic efforts to interfere in the election are going nowhere as President Trump marches to a historic victory for the American people on November 5,” Cheung said, referring to the election date.

Could the lawsuit affect the Trump campaign?

During the recent September presidential debate and during the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris and her supporters continued to attack Trump over his stance on the Central Park Five.

At the DNC, civil rights activist Al Sharpton brought the Central Park Five on stage to speak out against Trump.

“He spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for the execution of five innocent young teenagers,” Sharpton said, referring to the Central Park Five.

“Forty-five wanted us to live,” Yusef Salaam said at the DNC, referring to Trump, the country’s 45th president. “Today we are acquitted because the actual perpetrator confessed and DNA confirmed it. (Trump) still says he stands by the original conviction. Instead of admitting his mistake, he rejects scientific evidence.”

During the September debate, Harris criticized Trump for a full-page ad he did in 1989

“Let us remember that this is the same person who took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five innocent young black and Latino boys, the Central Park Five. He took out a full-page ad calling for their execution. Harris stated

“I think Americans want something better, they want something better,” Harris added.

But for months, Trump’s polling has been at an all-time high among black voters – support that appears unscathed by criticism from Harris and her campaign. Among Latinos, Harris also polls lower than previous Democratic candidates.