Central Park Five prosecutor resigns from Columbia Law School over miniseries fallout
New York — Fallout from the Netflix miniseries that dramatizes the events surrounding the Central Park Five trial continues. The New York Post reports that Elizabeth Lederer informed Columbia Law School on Wednesday that she would not seek reappointment as a part-time lecturer due to negative publicity generated by the series, "When They See Us."
Lederer was the lead prosecutor in the case in which five teenagers were wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape and beating of a woman jogging in Central Park. The law school dean says in a letter the miniseries "reignited a painful - and vital - national conversation about race, identity, and criminal justice."
Lederer's move comes after Linda Fairstein, who headed Manhattan's sex crimes unit at the time, was dropped by her publisher. In an op-ed, Fairstein said the series was full of falsehoods - a charge director Ava DuVernay dismissed. Fairstein also denied the teens were coerced into confessing and stands by her belief they should not have been completely exonerated.
The men recently recounted their experiences on "CBS Sunday Morning."
"Soon as we get in, they separate us and they start working on us. And I'm hearing Korey [Wise] being physically beaten in the next room. And I'm immediately beyond afraid," said Yusef Salaam.
Antron McCray said he was interrogated for more than 10 hours.
"I just kept telling the truth at first. They asked to speak to my father. My father left the room with them. Came back in the room, he just changed. Cursing, yelling at me. And he said, 'Tell these people what they wanna hear so you go home.' I'm like, 'Dad, but I didn't do anything,'" McCray said.
At trial, all were found guilty. Four of the five served about seven-year sentences as juveniles, but the oldest of the group, Korey Wise, served time as an adult.
