Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to apologize for calling for the execution of the five then teens (the ‘Central Park 5') convicted of and imprisoned for the assault and rape of investment banker Trisha Meili in 1989 who were later exonerated based on a confession from a convicted killer and DNA evidence. Instead, Trump sided with prosecutor Linda Fairstein and denialists when asked by journalist April Ryan if he regretted his actions.
Said Trump to Ryan: “Why do you bring that question up now? It's an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should have never settled that case. So we'll leave it at that.”
The case is the subject of a new Netflix drama called When They See Us directed by Ava DuVernay. Trump spent $85,000 placing ads in NYC papers calling for the teens' executions.