Whatever Happens to those Exonerated After Wrongful Convictions?

The final hurdle in establishing the Central Park Five’s (comprised of five Black and Latino teens wrongfully convicted of severely beating and raping a White woman in Central Park in the late 1980s) innocence has been cleared with a federal judge approving a $41 million settlement in September.

Yet, a check with endless zeros ($1 million for each year the men were locked up) and millionaire status doesn’t incite a celebration, but rather puts a period on 25 years worth of obstacles for justice.

“As you can imagine, we are all still trying to process what I call a sort of victory,” Yusef Salaam, a Central Park Five exoneree told “New York Amsterdam News.”

“I’m glad the battle is over, but I know the damage done isn’t covered by the amount we were awarded. No amount can replace the loss of freedom, justice and equality,” he added.

Read the full article here: http://www.regalmag.com/whatever-happens-those-exonerated-after-wrongful-convictions-a-1302.html