Said@Duke: Yusef Salaam of Exonerated Five on His Wrongful Conviction

Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana asked Duke Law students to remember the story of the Exonerated Five as they begin their careers, and said that speaking to future members of the legal profession has helped them heal the emotional trauma from their case.

As teenagers, Salaam and Santana were wrongfully charged and convicted, along with three others, of the brutal rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park. They were interviewed Tuesday at Duke Law by law professor Brandon Garrett, a leading scholar of criminal procedure, scientific evidence and wrongful convictions, who, early in his career, helped represent Salaam in his quest for exoneration. The event marked the launch of the Law School’s new interdisciplinary Center for Science and Justice, led by Garrett.

Salaam and Santana also spoke at Page Auditorium.

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