Central Park 5 case explained: How is Trump related to controversy raised by Harris during debate

Former President Donald Trump’s history of controversial statements about race came under scrutiny during Tuesday’s presidential debate, with Vice President Kamala Harris recalling the 1989 Central Park case.
Harris pointed out Trump’s past actions, including his discriminatory practices as a landlord in the 1970s and his role in the public outcry against the five young Black and Latino men wrongly convicted in the Central Park jogger assault case.
Harris criticised Trump for his call to execute the "Exonerated Five," previously known as the "Central Park Five," saying, "I think the American people want better than that, want better than this."


In 1989, New York City was grappling with a surge in crime linked to the crack epidemic. On April 19 of that year, Trisha Meili, a jogger in Central Park, was brutally assaulted and raped. The attack occurred on a night when about 30 teenagers were in the park, leading to several reports of muggings and assaults, Guardian reported.
The five—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—were convicted and sentenced to seven to thirteen years in prison.
In 2002, Matias Reyes, a serial rapist imprisoned for assaults on five other women in 1989, confessed to the Meili attack. DNA evidence confirmed his involvement, leading to the vacating of convictions for McCray, Richardson, Salaam, Santana, and Wise. Lopez’s convictions were also vacated in July 2022.

Nearly three decades before his first presidential campaign, Trump was vocal about the Central Park Five case. Just two weeks after the attack, before the suspects had been tried and while Meili was still in a coma, Trump placed an advertisement in four New York City newspapers, including the New York Times.
Under the headline “Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!” Trump’s ad stated, “I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.”
Despite the eventual exoneration of the five men, Trump has not apologized and continues to stand by his comments, arguing that the men had admitted guilt. He maintained this stance during the debate, according to the Guardian.