A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement of nearly $ 41 million for the so-called Central Park Five. NY1′s Polly Kreisman filed the following report.
Raymond Santana, one of the so-called Central Park Five, is now almost 40.
“My whole life has been about fighting this case,” he said.
Santana was awarded about $ 7 million dollars in the nearly $ 41 million settlement for the five men approved Friday by a federal judge.
“Back in 1989, our voices were taken from us and we were silenced, and now, to have it back, to stand up tall and to take what’s rightfully ours, it’s our humanity, and so now, this is now the icing on the cake. It really is,” he said.
The attack on the female jogger that resulted in convictions of the five men was vacated in 2002, when DNA evidence linked another man, who confessed, to the brutal rape.
In a statement Friday, the mayor said, “The City had a moral obligation to right this injustice which is why, from Day One, I vowed to settle this case…we can finally put this case behind us and these five men and their families can begin to heal these wounds and move forward.”
The settlement makes clear that the city and defendants that included former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, members of the NYPD and the DA’s office hold no fault or liability.
“Finally, like, ‘phew,’ we can just exhale and we can relax and then enjoy the moment of this victory, to say, this is one of many cases that has reached an ending and people say we’re victorious, and so we’ll take that,” Santana said.
Santana said his settlement will go towards college for his 10-year-old daughter and to benefit programs he said they may start that will give back to the community.
“It’s overwhelming. It’s still sometimes unbelievable,” he said. “It’s hard to process, and there’s just a lot of feelings, but overall, just to enjoy this moment, and that’s what I want to do.”
What he’s doing next is getting married on Saturday and turning 40 on Sunday.
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