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If you know anything about the exonerated 5, formerly known as the Central Park 5, you know that they were failed by the justice system. As teenagers they were accused of and convicted of a crime that they did not commit. Roland Martin talks to Yusef Salaam who calls what happened to them, “a sad situation.”

During the trial DNA literally proved their innocence but prosecutors and the DA believed they still had something to do with the crime.  Their innocence has since been proven again and they have won a number of lawsuits, but still, “no admission of guilt” from the ones who put them in prison Salaam explains. They all keep saying, “we were just doing our jobs,” but Salaam would appreciate an apology.

Since Ava Duvernay’s Netflix series When The See Us, the response he and the other men have gotten has made him “very happy.” After being looked at as the “scum of the earth,” he says it’s nice to be getting love not only from the United States but from all over the world. They’re getting messages they can’t even read because they’re in different languages; but they appreciate the love.

They have exhausted all of the possible lawsuits and Salaam says he’s gotten his life back since being released.

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Roland Martin Talks To Yusef Salaam About ‘When They See Us’  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com