There’s no amount of money that can ever repair what happened to the Central Park Five. But the five men, Raymond Santana, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, and Korey Wise, settled for $41 million with New York state once they were exonerated.
The state Court of Claims payout was for the economic and emotional devastation the children at the time endured for being falsely accused of the rape of a white woman.
“I understand people say it’s a lot of money. The reality is there’s no amount of money that would adequately compensate them,” attorney Jonathan Moore told the Daily News. “They’ve suffered every day since 1989 and they’re still suffering.”
The Central Park Five received an additional $3.9 million in 2016. The settlement gave plaintiffs Santana $500,000, McCray $600,000, Salaam and Richardson $650,000 each. Wise received $1.5 million since he was locked up the longest.
According to a state court system spokesperson, the case was settled on the record on Sept. 13, 2016.
