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Ex-NYC Prosecutor Linda Fairstein Under Fire for Role in “Central Park 5” Case

HeadlineJun 07, 2019

Former New York City prosecutor Linda Fairstein has stepped down from Vassar College’s board of trustees and from the boards of a pair of nonprofits, amid growing outrage over her role in the case of the Central Park Five. In 1989, five teenagers of color from Harlem were wrongfully accused and convicted on charges of gang rape, based largely on Fairstein’s work as head of the Sex Crimes Unit for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The five spent years in prison before the real perpetrator confessed in 2002. The case drew renewed attention after the recent premiere of the Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five. After headlines, we’ll spend the rest of the hour with Ava Duvernay, director of “When They See Us.”

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