From wrongful imprisonment to now winning a seat on the New York City Council, an exonerated member of the Central Park Five will now represent Harlem. Dr. Yusef Salam was one of five teens wrongly convicted for the rape of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989.
Salaam and four other teens from Harlem had their convictions overturned in 2022 after DNA evidence linked a serial rapist to the attack.
He was just 15 years old when he was arrested and spent nearly seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Salaam declared victory in his speech to supporters late Tuesday night.
“This campaign has been about those who have been forgotten. This campaign has been about our Harlem community, who has been pushed into the margins of life and made to believe that they were supposed to be there,” Salaam said.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
