Upon the release of Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us,” which detailed the tragedy and triumph of the boys commonly known as the Central Park 5, almost everyone involved faced widespread criticisms for the wrongful conviction of the innocent men. But, one person, in particular, took the brunt of backlash for her integral role in the conviction.
Back in 1990, as the Head of Sex Crimes in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Linda Fairstein oversaw the prosecution of the five boys in the rape of a white woman. During that time, Fairstein helped detectives at the 20th Precinct coerce false confessions from the teenagers after more than 30 hrs of interrogation and intimidation. Twelve years later, the convictions were vacated, but Fairstein maintained her fame and went on to become a best-selling author.
She was even later involved with Harvey Weinstein’s case, helping to silence one of many against him. But now, upon the resurfaced rage surrounding the unfair case, Fairstein’s world is crumbling, and according to Raymond Santana, one of the five wrongly convicted men, it’s what she deserves.
After tensions forced her to resign from her non-profit and Glamour Magazine apologized for crowning her “Woman of The Year,” many felt that just wasn’t enough. In fact, a petition to #CancelLindaFairstein went viral, as others called on her publishers to take a stand.
Although the publishers remained mum for the first week, TMZ reports they have now kicked her to the curb. According to the publication, Fairstein will no longer have a working relationship with Dutton, a subsidiary of the Penguin Random House, as they revealed it had “terminated its relationship” with the author. Dutton published 14 of Fairstein’s novels.
