‘When They See Us’ Prosecutor Gets the Boot

By N. Jamiyla Chisholm Jun 12, 2019

When They See Us,” the Netflix series that has become a movement, has put former prosecutor Linda Fairstein back in the news. Deadline reported yesterday (June 11) that the crime novelist was dropped by her literary agency ICM Partners, as a result of her portrayal in the Ava DuVernay-written and directed drama.

While the five innocent Black and Latinx men—Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise—who are now known as the Exonerated Five have long told their own stories, the public is now truly listening and pushing for Fairstein to be held accountable for her actions thirty years ago. The ICM loss comes after the creation of #CancelLindaFairstein, a series of petitions demanding that the publisher let her go and a call from Justice League NYC to have all her cases reopened.