Netflix premiered its 4-part limited series When They See Us Friday, chronicling the events of the “Central Park Five” and its case where they were wrongfully convicted of a 1989 rape. Reactions from the series came pouring in, with many online clamoring for the #CancelLindaFairstein movement and the boycotting of her books.
One of the men exonerated from the case, Raymond Santana, is happy that the ex-prosecutor is getting her comeuppance after all these years. Speaking with TMZ in an exclusive interview, Santana mentions that karma was meant to come back on Fairstein tenfold, yet still doesn’t expect an apology from her anytime soon.
“When you do dirt, you can’t run,” Santana tells TMZ. “No matter how long it is the truth comes out and even though it’s 30 years later, she has to pay for her crime.”
Fairstein helped lead in the prosecution, where she believed to seal confessions from the then-teenagers when they were pressured by the police. Despite the boys being exonerated for the crimes after years behind bars, Fairstein would later have a successful career as a children’s books author. The repercussions for her actions are being felt through social media, as users are demanding that booksellers like Barnes & Nobles and Amazon pull her works from the shelves.
Santana would also reflect on how the media would portray them during the initial proceedings of the case and how Donald Trump wanted them executed. Now he feels vindicated on how they are looked at as a symbol of the systemic racism that is born out of the justice system.
“Ken Burns said in 1989 that we were considered, ‘the most hated individuals on the planet Earth,’ and to see the response that we received now is like a 360,” Santana said. “It is something that you want to soak in and just you want to stay in the moment and try to enjoy it.”
