NEW YORK.- Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein and Netflix announced this June 4 that they resolved the demand for defamation, which she filed four years ago for the way in which she was represented in the miniseries of the service of streaming about five African-American and Latino teenagers now known as the exonerated Central Park Five.
Fairstein had argued that the 2019 four-part series When They See Us (Así nos ven) defamed her by portraying her as a racist and unethical villain, and attributed actions, responsibilities and views that were not hers.
The case was expected to go to trial later this month. Fairstein said in a statement that the decision to end this fight was not an easy one, and he expressed confidence that he would have presented a compelling case to the jury. While Fairstein will not receive any money as part of the settlement, Netflix agreed to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that works to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted.
Viewers of the series will also now see a notice that reads: “While the series is inspired by real events and people, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue and names are fictitious for dramatization purposes.”
“This is what this case was about, not about winning or any financial restitution, but about my reputation and that of my colleagues,” Fairstein said in a statement. “It was about making it clear that the evil caricature invented by the defendants and portrayed on the screen was not me.”
Fairstein was Manhattan’s top sex crimes prosecutor in 1989 when the five teenagers were accused of a brutal attack on a female jogger in Central Park. Her sentences were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone. DNA evidence linked him to the crime.
Fairstein, who became a successful crime novel author after retiring from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, observed the interrogation of the minors but did not personally judge the case.
Consequences of the Netflix miniseries on the life of the former prosecutor
She was fired by her publisher and resigned from several boards of directors she served on after it was released When They See Uswhich dramatizes the events surrounding the trial.
Ava DuVernay, who directed and co-wrote the miniseries, and Attica Locke, a writer and producer, were accused in the lawsuit of defamation. DuVernay said in a statement posted on social network X that she still believes Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the five teens.
“As head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit, Linda Fairstein was at the police station for more than 35 hours at a time while minors were questioned as adults, often without their parents present,” he said, asserting that Fairstein knew what what was happening in the interrogation rooms.
DuVernay accused Fairstein of being unwilling to face a jury and her fellow prosecutors. “I hope that one day Linda Fairstein can accept the role she played in this miscarriage of justice and finally accept responsibility for it,” she said.
Source: AP
