Central Park Five Backlash: 4 ways racist prosecutor Linda Fairstein’s being cancelled after Netflix series airs

Linda Fairstein the deceitful prominent figure who led the prosecution of the five Black boys who were dubbed the Central Park Five, is feeling some serious karma after her nonprofit organization distanced themselves and r...

Kia Morgan-Smith

Jun 4, 2019

Linda Fairstein attends The 16th Annual Authors In Kind Benefiting God's Love We Deliver at The Metropolitan Club on April 17, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Linda Fairstein, the racist former head of the Manhattan D.A.’s Sex Crimes Unit who led the charge in the false prosecution of five Black and Latino boys dubbed the Central Park Five in 1989, is feeling the heat after the premiere of Ava DuVernay‘s masterpiece, When They See Us.

DNA evidence ultimate pointed to Matias Reyes who admitted to the heinous crime, which prompted an investigation and ultimately the exoneration of the five men.

Taking to social media after viewing the docuseries, people slammed Fairstein for wrongfully arresting and imprisoning the five teens, whose charges were later thrown out, but not before they served years behind bars.

In addition to the botched Central Park rape investigation, Fairstein is best known as an author of the Alexandra Cooper books, where she covers her experiences as a New York prosecutor. That experience has some lambasting her for sending five innocent Black boys to prison for a crime they never committed.

Despite the 2014 exoneration of the five accused, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, and a $41 million settlement with the city of New York for their wrongful incarceration, Fairstein has yet to apologize. In fact, she maintains that she and the officers who procured the false confessions did nothing wrong.

In July, Fairstein defended the handling of the case in a letter to the editor of the New York Law Journal.

“The confessions were not coerced,” she wrote. “The questioning was respectful, dignified, carried out according to the letter of the law and with sensitivity to the young age of the men.”

Well, America disagrees.

Here are four ways that many people are rallying to the men’s defense using the #CancelLindaFairstein hashtag and calling for Fairstein to be held accountable for her actions.

Boycotting her Books

The formerly celebrated sex crimes prosecutor went on to become a successful mystery writer but now there are petitions calling for a boycott of Fairstein’s books.

“Linda Fairstein achieved her fame & fortune through her wild imagination & at the expense of five INNOCENT children’s pain,” one of the petitions reads. “Linda Fairstein led a witch hunt against five teenage boys even though the physical evidence didn’t support her theory she raged on with one goal in mind & that was to get a conviction at any expense even the lives of teenage boys.”

Banning her from Non-profit Board

According to TMZ, sources at the nonprofit Safe Horizon, a NYC-based organization that aids victims of abuse and violent crime in NYC are enraged that the former prosecutor remains on the board given her problematic past.

TMZ reports that the CEO held a meeting on May 21 where nearly 100 directors were informed about the Netflix drama and Fairstein’s connection to the controversial story.

—The Central Park Five Case: Where the racist cops and prosecutors are now—

Kicking her off of the Vassar College Board

Vassar College is reportedly reviewing Fairstein’s status as a Board of Trustee member after student outcry. College president Elizabeth Bradley sent a letter to students, alumni and community.

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Mari Robles, an international studies junior at Vassar, published a petition Sunday morning calling for Fairstein’s removal. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, more than 3,500 people had signed the petition on change.org.

Cancelling Awards

In November, the Mystery Writers of America, or MWA, rescinded the Grand Master Award it had planned on awarding Fairstein. The award is in recognition of a writer’s lifetime achievement.

After social media backlash to the announcement, MWA rescinded the offer.

“MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks the support of such a large percentage of our members,” the organization said in a statement at the time.

Calling for her Prosecution

—‘When They See Us’ sparking calls for Linda Fairstein book boycott—