New York City has finalized a $40 million settlement with the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted of raping a female jogger in Central Park 25 years ago. The five black and Latino men were convicted as teenagers. Media coverage at the time portrayed them as guilty and used racially coded terms to describe them. But their convictions were vacated in 2002 when the real rapist came forward and confessed, after the five had already served jail terms of up to 13 years. On Friday, three of the five appeared at City Hall to thank their supporters. Defense attorney Michael Warren said the five’s ordeal has left them with injuries that will last a lifetime.

Michael Warren: “In spite of the fact that they are here and in spite of the fact that they have fought for all these years, in spite of the fact that you may see smiles on their face, there are scars inside which will last forever as a result of them having their youth stolen from them and, even more importantly, having their youth stolen from them and being put into prisons facing the type of charges that they were faced with.”