Book publisher drops Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein has been dropped by her publisher as the fallout continues over the wrongful conviction of five teens for the rape and beating of a female jogger in 1989.
Fairstein’s book publisher, Dutton, did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for confirmation and comment. However, Dutton spokeswoman Amanda Walker confirmed a statement that the publisher's customer service line has been giving to inquiring callers, saying that it had "terminated its relationship" with the best-selling crime novelist, The Associated Press reported.
Fairstein said Friday that she and Dutton had "decided to terminate their relationship," in a statement issued through Laura Rossi Public Relations, which also touted Fairstein’s accomplishments.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'CENTRAL PARK FIVE' PROSECUTOR RESIGNS FROM CHARITY BOARDS OVER NETFLIX SHOW BACKLASH: REPORT
"Fairstein is the author of 24 books, including 16 New York Times bestselling crime novels, as well as a nonfiction work that was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year," the statement said.
There has been a renewed outcry regarding Fairstein's role in the racially divisive case following the release last month of Netflix's "When They See Us," a miniseries that dramatizes the events surrounding the trial.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fairstein resigned from at least two nonprofit boards as backlash intensified and a #CancelLindaFairstein movement spread on social media.
Fairstein was the top Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor when five black and Latino teenagers were charged with attacking the white jogger. The case became an emblem of the city's soaring crime in the late 1980s. She didn’t personally try the case but observed the boys' 1989 interrogation, conducted by another prosecutor and police.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The teens said their confessions were coerced and their convictions were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone. DNA linked him to the crime.
She has denied the teens were coerced and has defended authorities' conduct in the case, explored in a 2013 documentary by Ken Burns.
The city reached a roughly $41 million settlement with the five accused teens the next year, while not admitting any wrongdoing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fairstein did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for commen.
When The Associated Press reached her on Friday she declined further comment, the news agency reported.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fairstein's most recent book, "Blood Oath," came out three months ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.