Steven Lopez, the sixth co-defendant in the Central Park Five case, had his conviction overturned, CNN reports. The exoneration comes nearly 20 years after the rest of the Central Park Five were exonerated in 2002.
Lopez was 15 years old when he was arrested in connection to the 1989 Central Park attack that involved a white woman who was beaten and raped, BBC reports.
Along with the Exonerated Five, he was indicted for the rape and robbery of a woman jogging through the park at the time. According to CNN, he pleaded guilty to the robbery and spent nearly four years in prison.
The 48-year-old’s story is often forgotten or excluded in references to the Exonerated Five.
“We talk about the Central Park Five, the Exonerated Five, but there were six people on that indictment,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, The New York Times reports.
Bragg explained why they decided to vacate the conviction, noting there was no physical evidence that connected Lopez to the rape or robbery, and that statements made by others putting the crimes on Lopez were later recanted.
“All of the factors taken together — as set forth in our motion papers — show what the people believe are unique circumstances, combined with Mr. Lopez’s youth, made his plea involuntary — and therefore unconstitutional,” he said, according to CNN. “A conviction based on an unconstitutional plea cannot stand.”
Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, two of the men from the Exonerated Five, extended their support for Lopez in an interview.
“It’s only right that he’s exonerated,” Santana said, the Times reports. “He’s due that.”
The courtroom was emotional when the decision to overturn Lopez’s conviction was announced. Judge Ellen Biben wished Lopez “peace and healing” as his eye swelled with tears, CNN reports.
