Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Following the debut of Ava DuVernay‘s four-part Netflix miniseries When They See Us, former Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor and bestselling author Linda Fairstein is facing intense scrutiny.
Played by actor Felicity Huffman in the series, Fairstein, who was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office from 1976 until 2002, played a large part in the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five in 1989. As dramatized in When They See Us, Fairstein led the prosecution against five teenage boys, all of whom spent between 6 and 13 years in prison for rape, despite the lack of any physical evidence linking them to the crime. Though they confessed to being present for the crime on tape, they later said detectives coerced them into doing so by using unjust interrogation methods. In 2002, a serial rapist confessed to committing the rape alone, his DNA was a match, and all five men were exonerated.
The series has led many to question Fairstein’s work as a prosecutor. As reported by Fader, New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the co-founders of the Women’s March, activists Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, took to Twitter to call for cases prosecuted by Fairstein to be reopened, and others followed suit.
Activist Bishop Talbert Swan went so far as to say that Fairstein “should be criminally investigated for her hand in the convictions of the #CentralPark5.”
The Central Park Five are not the only ones convicted under Fairstein who were later exonerated. A 2002 Village Voice article details the complaints of Oliver Jovanovic and Patrick Griffin, who both served time for sex crimes, only to have their convictions overturned. Fairstein also helped squash a case against disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein in 2015, according to New York Times reporter Megan Twohey.
Some are calling for a boycott of Fairstein’s books: The best-selling Alexandra Cooper series, which are crime novels based on Fairstein’s own experience as a prosecutor. Using the hashtag “#CancelLindaFairstein,” people are asking booksellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble to remove Fairstein’s books from its shelves. A Change.org petition for the “book removal” currently has over 40,000 signatures, though it should be noted that major booksellers rarely, if ever, ban books. It’s more possible that Fairstein could lose her deal with publishers on future books, as precedented by the many canceled book deals following sexual harassment allegations in the publishing industry.
Raymond Santana, one of the Central Park Five, told TMZ he supports the online movement against Fairstein. “Even if it’s 30 years later, she has to pay for her crime,” he said.
