Donald Trump‘s recent indictment has taken over newsfeeds and social media as he becomes the first U.S. president in history, former or serving, to face criminal charges. Trump has spent decades avoiding facing the consequences of his actions, but finally one of his wrongdoings would seem to have caught up to him. In response to the news, one of the Central Park Five has their own opinion on the matter.
Yusef Abdus Salaam was one of the Central Park Five, now often referred to as The Exonerated Five. Salaam, along with Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, were charged with the rape and assault of Trisha Meili in Central Park back in 1989, they were imprisoned for sentences ranging between six to 12 years with the boys aged 14 to 16 at the time.
The case received a huge amount of media scrutiny, including from none other than Trump who took out a full-page advertisement in the Daily News with the heading, “Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring back our Police!” Underneath it Trump wrote out a statement, which said, in part,
“Mayor Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer … Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murderers and I always will. … How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their Civil Liberties End When an Attack On Our Safety Begins!”
It cost Trump an estimated $85,000 dollars at that time to take out this advertisement (equivalent to $186,000 in 2021). This advert was believed to have had a huge effect on the public attitude going toward the trial, creating a staggering prejudice towards the boys in the public’s mind. This assertion was backed up by Time magazine in 2019 and The Guardian in 2016. All five of the defendants then had their convictions vacated in 2002 when the real assailant, Matias Reyes, made himself known in 2001.
Now in the wake of facing his own criminal charges, Trump is not going down lightly and has already released a statement decrying the charges as nothing more than a “witch-hunt”. Salaam, however, has another way of putting it, and doesn’t need nearly as many words to get his point across.
To see the man who called for your own death finally face the judicial system having managed to slip out of its grip on so many occasions must be extremely satisfying. Trump will likely have to attend the very same courthouse that originally convicted the five to face his own charges. Karma indeed.
Published: Mar 30, 2023 09:59 pm