Central Park 5 prosecutor won’t seek renewal of Columbia job

Fallout from the Netflix miniseries that dramatizes the events surrounding the Central Park Five trial continues.

The New York Post reports that Elizabeth Lederer informed Columbia Law School on Wednesday, June 12, that she would not seek reappointment as a part-time lecturer due to negative publicity generated by the series, “When They See Us”.

This image released by Netflix shows Niecy Nash as Delores Wise, left, and Jharrel Jerome as Korey Wise in a scene from “When They See Us”. Image: Netflix/Atsushi Nishijima via AP

Lederer was the lead prosecutor in the case in which five teenagers were wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape and beating of a woman jogging in Central Park.

The law school dean says in a letter the miniseries “reignited a painful — and vital — national conversation about race, identity, and criminal justice.”

Lederer’s move comes after Linda Fairstein, who headed Manhattan’s sex crimes unit at the time, was dropped by her publisher. Fairstein has said the series was full of falsehoods — a charge the director dismissed. RGA/JB

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