Judge OKs $41 Million Deal With 'Central Park Five'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A federal judge has signed off on New York City's $41 million settlement with the five men who were wrongly convicted in the vicious 1989 rape and beating of a Central Park jogger.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the settlement approved Friday an "act of justice'' that's "long overdue.''
Judge OKs $41 Million Deal For 'Central Park Five'
"The city had a moral obligation to right this injustice — which is why, from day one, I vowed to settle this case," de Blasio said in a statement. "With today's approval by a federal judge, we can finally put this case behind us, and these five men and their families can begin to heal these wounds and move forward."
Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Kharey Wise were convicted as teenagers in the beating and rape of an investment banker near the park's reservoir in 1989. The victim was found with more than 75 percent of her blood drained from her body and her skull smashed. She was in a coma for 12 days, suffered permanent damage and remembers nothing about the attack.
The defendants spent six to 13 years in jail, but their convictions were tossed out in 2002 after Matias Reyes, an incarcerated serial rapist and murderer, confessed to the attack.
The money will be divided up according to the time each spent in prison, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported. Four of the men will get over $7 million a piece; Wise -- who spent 13 years behind bars -- will receive over $12 million.
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