Yusef Salaam (born 1975) was an African-American man from Harlem, New York City who was wrongfully convicted of rape and attempted murder in the 1990 Central Park jogger case and sentenced to 10 years in a detention facility. After his release, he became an activist, speaking about his experiences.
Biography[]
Salaam in prison
Yusef Salaam was born in Harlem, New York City in 1975, the son of Sharon Salaam. He was friends with Korey Wise during their high school years, and, in 1989, Salaam was wrongfully arrested by Detective John Taglioni as a suspect in the Central Park jogger case; Wise was invited to accompany Salaam and support him, but the two of them were both interrogated as suspects. Salaam was deprived of food, drink, or sleep for an entire day, and his family received death threats after Donald Trump called for the death penalty to be reinstated. He was sentenced to 5–10 years in a juvenile detention facility after being found guilty, despite the efforts of his lawyer Bobby Burns (his mother's divorce lawyer, who was unequipped for a criminal trial) and the other boys' attorneys. He was released in 2002 when the trial was vacated, and he was awarded $7.1 million in recompense for his time served; he went on to work for a telemarketing company, and he was later awarded a lifetime achievement award from President Barack Obama in 2016. In 2023, he ran for the New York City Council.
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