NEW YORK – Yusef Salaam, an exonerated member of the 'Central Park Five,' believes everything in his life has happened for a reason. More than two decades after spending the majority of his teenage years behind bars for a crime he never committed, Salaam declared victory in a Democratic primary race for a New York City Council seat in Harlem.
"I call this story a love story between God and his people," Salaam, 49, told Yahoo News. Salaam's win , almost guarantees he'll win the general election in the heavily Democratic district.
The teens were later exonerated in 2002 when DNA evidence linked another person to the crime. The teenagers sued New York City and the case was later settled. But for the five young men, their lives, and many of their hopes and dreams, had already been upended.
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