the group was exonerated in [the 1989 case] in 2002 when dna evidence linked another person to the crime. the teenagers sued the city, and the case was settled in 2014. the attorneys for plaintiffs noted the five men who were wrongly accused and convicted of a brutal new york city assault in 1989, now known as the central park 5. plaintiffs pled not guilty on all counts. they would all maintain their innocence throughout their trials and years in prisoneven when this later hindered them from obtaining parole and extended their incarcerations. they also noted no one was killed in the assault. the standard for defamation is that plaintiffs establish defendant knowing lied or acted in reckless disregard of the truth. should be easy enough to find based on the facts. trump just wanted to blame them during the debate.
United States