When They See Us: Central Park Five prosecutor resigns from college post (2024)

The prosecutor of five teenagers convicted for the brutal rape of a female jogger in 1989 - depicted in Netflix's When They See Us - has left her job at at Columbia Law School.

Lawyer Elizabeth Lederer led the prosecution, but in Ava DuVernay's series she is seen expressing doubts about their guilt.

The boys, known as the Central Park Five, said police coerced them into confessing and were exonerated in 2002.

They were all black and Hispanic.

Columbia University's Black Students Organisation had set up a petition asking the school to fire Ms Lederer, external amid outcry generated by the series.

The New York Times reported that the school's dean emailed students, external saying Ms Lederer "decided not to seek reappointment as a lecturer".

She is also a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Gillian Lester, the dean of the school, said Ms Lederer wrote that the Netflix series had "reignited a painful - and vital - national conversation about race, identity, and criminal justice."

The New York Times said the email included a statement from Ms Lederer saying she had enjoyed her years teaching at Columbia but would not be returning.

She said: "Given the nature of the recent publicity generated by the Netflix portrayal of the Central Park case, it is best for me not to renew my teaching application."

The BBC has contacted Ms Lederer, Columbia Law School and Manhattan district attorney's office for comment.

When They See Us, a four-part mini-series, has proved hugely popular on Netflix, and in the US the series has been the streaming service's most-watched show since it debuted. In the UK it is the second-most watched after Black Mirror.

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The victim, a white 28-year-old investment banker, was severely beaten, raped and left for dead in a bush. She had no memory of it.

Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise - then aged between 14 and 16 - were arrested and interrogated for hours without access to lawyers or their parents.

They confessed to the crime but later recanted, saying their admissions were the result of police coercion.

The 1989 interrogation was conducted by another prosecutor and police.

The convictions were overturned in 2002 after a serial violent offender named Matias Reyes confessed to the attack and said he had acted alone.

A US judge in 2014 approved a $41m (£32m) settlement between the five and New York City.

This is the second job loss for someone connected with the case since the series was released.

On 4 June, Linda Fairstein, a former US prosecutor involved in the case, resigned from several boards, external.

She observed the teenagers' 1989 interrogation, which was conducted by another prosecutor and police. She was Manhattan's sexual crimes top prosecutor at the time, and has since maintained they were not coerced and defended the authorities' conduct.

When They See Us inspired a #CancelLindaFairstein movement on social media amid renewed outcry over her role in the case.

On 8 June, Ms Fairstein, who is now a crime novelist and children's author, was dropped by her publisher.

Two days later she wrote in the Wall Street Journal, external: "Ava DuVernay's miniseries wrongly portrays them as totally innocent - and defames me in the process."

Ava Duvernay was asked about Linda Fairstein during an interview by Oprah Winfrey, external, and said: "I think that it's important that people be held accountable."

But she added: "She is part of a system that's not broken, it was built to be this way... the real thing that we are all trying to do.. is to be able to say, 'Go America...Let's do this. Let's change this.'

"You can't change what you don't know, so we came together to show you what you may not know."

"That's our goal."

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