There is growing support for a monument to be established in Central Park commemorating the five wrongly accused men in the "Central Park Jogger" case.

The chairwoman of Community Board 10’s Park and Recreation Committee, Karen Horry, has shared her vision of the exhibit with various other boards explaining, “We envision a permanent commemoration to the fortitude and resiliency of the five men known as the Exonerated Five and to the need social justice reform." Horry adds, “The park is the most natural location for a commemoration since its location is burned into the collective memories of New Yorkers as a major turning point in our city’s history.”

The case against the five men who were later exonerated highlighted social and racial injustices in the city that continue to be felt in today's climate. The city's mayor agrees with the move to erect an exhibit honoring the five men (who were just teens at the time) after being wrongly accused of sexually assaulting and beating a female jogger, Trisha Meili.

It's not clear whether the exhibit will be in the form of a statue or some sort of artistic display; however, there is talk that this permanent exhibit should be set up in the Northeast part of the park. This is the area of the park where the teens entered in April 1989 and forever had their lives changed.

The Exonerated Five

The “Central Park Five,” later changed to the “Exonerated Five,” was the nickname used to describe five black teens who were charged with the brutal rape and beating of a white woman after she jogged through Central Park on April 19th. The jogger was identified decades later as then-28-year-old Trisha Meili who worked on Wall Street as an investment banker. After a 12-hour workday, Meili jogged through the park where she was attacked, violently raped, and suffered severe injuries that left her in a coma for days after.

The five men who were charged and convicted in her case were Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Antron McCray.

Salaam was 14 when he was convicted, and he served seven years behind bars at a juvenile detention center. Richardson and Santana were also 14 when they were convicted, and both served five years in detention. McCray was 15 at the time and served six years behind bars, while Wise who was 16 at the time was locked up for 12 years.

The men received lengthier sentences than the time they actually served but were exonerated after a serial rapist named Matias Reyes came forward claiming responsibility for the crime. Authorities took samples of Reyes' DNA and matched it with DNA found on Meili, determining that he was the one who raped and assaulted the investment banker.

Trump's Role in the Teens' Convection

In the days after the teens' conviction of the assault, Donald Trump, a prominent socialite in New York at the time, bought a full-page ad in a major New York City newspaper advocating for the death penalty. While the ad did not directly mention the Central Park Five, it did highlight the need for police support, alluding to the assault. Years later, while running for his presidential bid in 2016, Donald Trump referenced the Central Park Five in a CNN interview, stating of their guilt even after they were exonerated, “They admitted they were guilty. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty."

When the five teens were arrested, they did confess to the crime. However, it was later revealed the boys were coerced and intimidated into the false confessions that would later seal their fates behind bars. During the investigation, unrest persisted regarding racial injustice in the city. The struggle for social justice continued even after the five were exonerated, and their story made national headlines again in part because of the 2019 Netflix special that documented their experience.

After the five were exonerated, they filed a civil lawsuit against the city in which the city settled with the men for $41 million. The city did not take any ownership in any wrongdoing, nor did the prosecutors in the case.

While the five men have been exonerated, not everyone accepts that they were innocent of the crime. Even more so, there are several critics of the city's push to establish a monument in their honor. One such critic is a retired NYPD detective, Eric Reynolds. Reynolds was on duty the night of the attack and shared his thoughts with the local news outlet regarding the monument, “Does anybody know any of the actual facts of the case?” he asked. “Because this is astounding. Is there anything for the jogger? Is there anything for Trisha Meili? I think she should get a monument before they do.”