Full-page ads Trump ran in 1989 advocated for bringing the death penalty back to "punish" the teen suspects, who were eventually exonerated.

Donald Trump is refusing to apologize to the Central Park Five for taking out full-page advertisements in New York City newspapers in 1989 calling for the death penalty in response to a case in which the five black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of rape.

Years after DNA evidence exonerated them, @realDonaldTrump suggests the Central Park 5 are guilty & refuses to apologize for taking out a full-page ad saying they should be executed. "You have people on *both sides* of that. They admitted their guilt."🤬

Days after the rape of an investment banker in Central Park, Trump ran the ads that read: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” In his message, Trump said, "I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand [the suspects], "I am looking to punish them." The group of five — Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Yusef Salaam — were charged with assault, robbery, rape, and other counts based on confessions they made during police interrogations that lasted for hours and without their parents or attorneys present. The teens, who were ages 14 to 16 at the time, withdrew the confessions and pleaded not guilty, but were eventually convicted and sentenced to prison. However, in 2002, the men were exonerated after a convicted murderer admitted to the rape, which was confirmed by DNA evidence. There’s been renewed interest and outcry about the injustice of the Central Park Five case after When They See Us, Ava DuVernay's miniseries chronicling the case, premiered on Netflix May 31.

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