Central Park 5 Prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer Resigns From Columbia Law
Elizabeth Lederer, a part time professor and the former Assistant District Attorney on the Central Park 5 case, has resigned her position at Columbia Law School.
Lederer wrongfully prosecuted five young black teens in the rape and assault of Trisha Meili, a white woman who was jogging in the North Woods of Manhattan’s Central Park on the night of April 19, 1989.
Central Park 5 Prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer Resigns from Columbia Law School https://t.co/gCpZYA3uIZ
— TMZ (@TMZ) June 13, 2019
The five teenagers prosecution was based primarily on confessions that were made during police interrogations, which proceeded without parents or attorney present.
Later each withdrew their confessions, pleaded not guilty, and refused deals.
DNA from semen samples found on the victim did NOT match any of the accused a fact that was known during the first trial.
The teenagers were ultimately convicted in two separate trials in 1990.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 20: Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray, Raymond Santana Jr., Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam attend the World Premiere of Netflix’s “When They See Us” at the Apollo Theater on May 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
They received sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years.
Matias Reyes, a convicted serial rapist and murderer who was in prison, confessed to raping the jogger in 2001.
Reyes DNA matched samples found on the rape victim, and he said he committed the rape alone!
The five teenagers convictions were vacated in 2002, and the state withdrew all charges against them.
Elizabeth worked alongside Linda Fairstein in the prosecution of the Central Park 5.
In #CancelLindaFairstein news, the former Central Park 5 prosecutor loses publisher: https://t.co/tK9RLvVbKA pic.twitter.com/Gyqi5dtCUb
— The Root (@TheRoot) June 8, 2019
The Black Law Student Association at Columbia pressured school administrators to remove her from the faculty.
Do YOU think this information is enough to hold the prosecution team accountable for the wrongful outcome of this case?
