Freed from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, ‘Central Park Five’ member wins NYC Council race

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A member of the “Central Park Five” has won the Democratic primary for a seat on the New York City Council representing Central Harlem. The win all but assures Yusef Salaam of eventual victory. Ranked choice voting tallies Wednesday show him with nearly 64% of first and second-choice votes, making him the clear winner. Salaam prevailed over two political veterans: state Assembly members Al Taylor and Inez Dickens. Salaam was 15 when he was wrongly arrested in the rape and beating of a white woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Salaam and four other Black and Latino teenagers were wrongly convicted and spent years in prison before they were exonerated.