Judith Browne Dianis (’92), Executive Director of Advancement Project, and Maya Wiley (’92), President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, were quoted in an AP News article juxtaposing Donald Trump’s current conviction on 34 felony counts alongside the wrongful conviction of the Central Park Five (“Black Leaders Call Out Trump’s Criminal Justice Contradictions as He Rails against Guilty Verdict,” Jun. 1). “Donald Trump’s conviction is going to be a problem for him with many Black people because, guess what, many Black people do not like people who violate our criminal laws,” Maya said. “Black people are disproportionately the victims of crime. It’s not that they just side with people who’ve been convicted of a crime.” She added, “They haven’t forgotten the fact that Donald Trump took out a full-page ad suggesting the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who have been exonerated and were the victims of an abusive system.” Judith also pointed to inequities in the criminal justice system citing Trump’s treatment as a defendant. “He [Trump] didn’t have a violent arrest by police, he didn’t stay a night in Rikers Island because he couldn’t afford bail, he didn’t even go to jail. He could pay a battery of lawyers to represent him and he can pay for an appeal,” she said.
