Elizabeth Lederer, Central Park 5 prosecutor, resigns from Columbia after Netflix series
The blowback for the real-life prosecutors of Ava Duvernay's Netflix mini-series "When They See Us" continues.Elizabeth Lederer, lead prosecutor in the Central Park Five case, has resigned from her part-time lecturer post at Columbia Law School after a petition calling for her firing garnered over 10,000 signatures.In a letter published Wednesday, Columbia Law School dean Gillian Lester said that the miniseries "reignited a painful — and vital — national conversation about race, identity, and criminal justice."Lederer said in a statement, "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."In 1989, Lederer prosecuted Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — known as the Central Park Five — in the assault and rape of a white female investment banker in Central Park.They were exonerated in 2002 after Matias Reyes confessed to the crimes, which was corroborated by DNA evidence.The petition to fire Lederer was written by the Black Law Students Association at Columbia Law."[T]hat is just a start," they said in the petition. "The School must do more because letting one professor go does not improve the lives of Black and Latinx law students, nor does it improve the learning experience of students of color at Columbia Law School."The resignation comes a week after Linda Fairstein, who helmed the Manhattan District Attorney's sex crimes unit, published a rebuke of "When They See Us" in the Wall Street Journal.She endured a series of fallout for her role in Central Park Five, including being dropped by her publisher and resigning from the Vassar board of trustees.FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedInThe day in pictures Fullscreen Posted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Pakistani fishing boats are called back from the sea following a warning by authorities of Cyclone Vayu at Karachi harbor in Pakistan, June 13, 2019. The meteorological department issued an alert, warning fishermen to avoid fishing in the Arabian sea this week as the Cyclone Vayu could cause rough conditions in the sea. Fareed Khan, APFullscreenChildren play under showers that are part of a public fountain to cool off on June 13, 2019 in Vilnius, Lithuania where temperatures rose up to 95 degrees. Petras Malukas, AFP/Getty ImagesFullscreenPlane spotters watch a landing DC-3 heritage plane during a spotter day at the German Air Force's airfield in Jagel, northern Germany, June 13, 2019. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, about a dozen of former 'Raisin Bombers' (Rosinenbomber) planes met in Jagel. From 1948 to 1949, during the Berlin blockade, planes of the Western Allied Forces carried food and fuel from Western Germany to Berlin. Focke Strangmann, EPA-EFEFullscreenA snow plough clears away snow on the cantonal road to the Nufenen Pass in Switzerland, June 13, 2019. Due to the danger of avalanches, the pass r
The blowback for the real-life prosecutors of Ava Duvernay’s Netflix mini-series “When They See Us” continues.Elizabeth Lederer, lead prosecutor in the Central Park Five case, has resigned from her part-time lecturer post at Columbia Law School after a petition calling for her firing garnered over 10,000 signatures.In a letter published Wednesday, Columbia Law School dean Gillian Lester said that the miniseries “reignited a painful — and vital — national conversation about race, identity, and criminal justice.”Lederer said in a statement, “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.”In 1989, Lederer prosecuted Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — known as the Central Park Five — in the assault and rape of a white female investment banker in Central Park.They were exonerated in 2002 after Matias Reyes confessed to the crimes, which was corroborated by DNA evidence.The petition to fire Lederer was written by the Black Law Students Association at Columbia Law.”[T]hat is just a start,” they said in the petition. “The School must do more because letting one professor go does not improve the lives of Black and Latinx law students, nor does it improve the learning experience of students of color at Columbia Law School.”The resignation comes a week after Linda Fairstein, who helmed the Manhattan District Attorney’s sex crimes unit, published a rebuke of “When They See Us” in the Wall Street Journal.She endured a series of fallout for her role in Central Park Five, including being dropped by her publisher and resigning from the Vassar board of trustees.FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedInThe day in pictures Fullscreen Posted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Pakistani fishing boats are called back from the sea following a warning by authorities of Cyclone Vayu at Karachi harbor in Pakistan, June 13, 2019. The meteorological department issued an alert, warning fishermen to avoid fishing in the Arabian sea this week as the Cyclone Vayu could cause rough conditions in the sea. Fareed Khan, APFullscreenChildren play under showers that are part of a public fountain to cool off on June 13, 2019 in Vilnius, Lithuania where temperatures rose up to 95 degrees. Petras Malukas, AFP/Getty ImagesFullscreenPlane spotters watch a landing DC-3 heritage plane during a spotter day at the German Air Force’s airfield in Jagel, northern Germany, June 13, 2019. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, about a dozen of former ‘Raisin Bombers’ (Rosinenbomber) planes met in Jagel. From 1948 to 1949, during the Berlin blockade, planes of the Western Allied Forces carried food and fuel from Western Germany to Berlin. Focke Strangmann, EPA-EFEFullscreenA snow plough clears away snow on the cantonal road to the Nufenen Pass in Switzerland, June 13, 2019. Due to the danger of avalanches, the pass r
