New York City Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio to Settle Central Park Five Case

Famous documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will in fact settle the long awaited Central Park Five civil lawsuit.

According to a Huffington Post interview, Burns, the man behind 2012’s groundbreaking documentary about the 1990 case, says de Blasio would like to see the victimized men move on with their lives. “The mayor-elect, has agreed to settle this case, and thought this is justice delayed way too long,” said Burns. “And that is justice denied, [they] will not only be exonerated… but they will have justice, they will see some closure, they will be able to be made whole.”

Back in 2002, the convictions of the five men were overturned once one man confessed to the crime. DNA evidence cleared them of the crime. In the year that followed, the Central Park Five filed a $250-million civil lawsuit against New York City for wrongful convictions.

“As a city, we have a moral obligation to right this injustice,” said de Blasio in an earlier statement. “It is in our collective interest—the wrongly accused, their families and the taxpayer—to settle this case and not let another year slip by without action.”