close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • When Trump called for the wrongful execution of five teenagers of color
    news

    When Trump called for the wrongful execution of five teenagers of color

    Vaseline Posted on

    In May 1989, Donald J. Trump took out full-page ads in several New York City newspapers calling for the execution of five black and Hispanic boys between the ages of 14 and 16.

    Later that same year, during a conversation with talk show host Larry King about the case against these teenagers, Trump announced what may well be the central platform of his current presidential campaign:

    “Of course I hate these people, and let’s all hate these people, because maybe we need hate if we want to achieve anything.”

    The problem is that these children did not commit the crimes they were accused of. They were later exonerated when the real perpetrator confessed to the rape and attempted murder of the woman known as the Central Park Jogger, and the City of New York paid a $41 million settlement to the group. And yet Trump has never apologized or even acknowledged his mistake.

    Make no mistake – Trump was engaged in a lynch mob mentality. And under his unique brand of justice – in which he alone should get away with crimes – these boys would have been wrongly executed for a crime they did not commit. Think about that.

    But this isn’t really about what Trump did 35 years ago. This is about the hateful actions of a former president of the United States and current nominee who continued to smear these men of color even after they were exonerated by the justice system.

    The incident began when a 28-year-old white woman jogging through Central Park on April 19, 1989, was raped and beaten so brutally that her skull was fractured, her eye socket was shattered, and she lost 75 percent of her blood. She had been beaten beyond recognition and was not expected to survive. She miraculously recovered after a two-week coma, but had no memory of the attack.

    That same night, a group of 20 to 30 teenage boys roamed the park, chasing cyclists and attacking pedestrians. As police began their search for the young woman’s attackers, they apprehended suspects, including the young men who would later become known as the Central Park Five. Within hours of the attack, the teens were arrested and charged.

    Investigators allegedly coerced the youths—mostly aged 14 and 15—into confessions through aggressive bullying, intimidation and outright lies, lasting several hours. They told the terrified teens that other suspects named them as the attackers, pitting the five against each other. The detectives were so loud and angry, Yusef Salaam later recalled, “I felt like they were going to take us to the back of the police station and kill us.”

    Ultimately, all five men told a story they knew the police wanted to hear so they could go home.

    At the time, Trump was known primarily as a loudmouth Manhattan real estate baron desperate for the spotlight. The Central Park case had become one of the country’s biggest news stories, with tales of “wilding” and “wolf packs” of black children stoking the fears of white America. Within days of the arrests, Trump spent $85,000 — in 1989 dollars — on giant ads proclaiming “Bring Back the Death Penalty.”

    “I want to hate these robbers and murderers,” he wrote. “I don’t want to psychoanalyze them or understand them, I want to punish them.”

    The boys each served between six and 13 years in prison for the crime. They refused to take plea deals or confess to the crime in order to receive parole, because they didn’t want to admit to something they didn’t do. Their story is shared in a gripping 2012 documentary by New Hampshire’s own Ken Burns, perhaps the finest documentary filmmaker America has ever produced.

    In 2002, convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed that he was the real perpetrator and had acted alone. His DNA matched samples found at the crime scene, and he also provided little-known details about the brutal attack. The Central Park Five had their convictions overturned, and they later filed a civil lawsuit against the city, resulting in a $41 million settlement equal to the total number of years they had wrongfully spent in prison. Today, advocates refer to them as the Exonerated Five.

    Of course, Trump doesn’t care. During his 2016 presidential campaign, the candidate told NBC, “They admitted they were guilty. The law enforcement that did the original investigation says they were guilty. The fact that they settled that case with so much evidence against them is outrageous.”

    However, there was never any evidence to tie these children to the crime—only the coerced confessions. There was no DNA or physical evidence to tie them to the crime scene, their timelines did not match the reconstructed chronology put together by the police, and their statements were contradictory. None of them had a lawyer with them during interrogations, and none had been arrested before.

    Korey Wise, who had a hearing impairment and a learning disability, wasn’t even an initial suspect—police simply asked him to come with his friend Yusef to the station. He didn’t return home for 13 years. He was only 16 when he was arrested and sentenced to the infamous Riker’s Island. Antron McCray refused to admit guilt until police could speak with his father, Bobby. Then his father, who was Antron’s hero, forced his son to confess. Bobby even joined the chorus of officers who yelled and cursed at Antron, mistakenly believing his son would be released if he cooperated. Antron later told interviewers that his relationship with his father was never the same, as he considered him a coward for not defending his son.

    Even as sitting president of the United States, Trump refused to apologize to the Exonerated Five in 2019. “They admitted their guilt,” he insisted. Ironically, the teens were sentenced in the same Manhattan courthouse where Trump alleged he had been wrongly convicted of multiple crimes earlier this year. In 2015, Wise donated $190,000 to the University of Colorado Law School’s Innocence Project. Kevin Richardson is now a criminal justice reform advocate, married with two daughters. Four of the five shared their painful experiences onstage at last month’s Democratic National Convention, speaking out about Trump’s unwillingness to admit he was wrong.

    “He has never changed and he never will,” Salaam, now a New York City councilman, told the crowd. “This man thinks that hate is the force that America exudes. It is not.”

    D. Allan Kerr is a former longshoreman, newspaperman, and U.S. Navy veteran living in Kittery, Maine. This column is part of his ongoing series examining the character of the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like