Yusef Salaam, a key figure in the infamous "Central Park Five" case, has moved one step closer to securing a seat on the New York City Council.
In Tuesday's Democratic primary election, Salaam emerged victorious with more than half of the votes cast, according to the Associated Press.
Salaam, who is in his 40s, secured a victory with his vote tally barely exceeding 50% for the Central Harlem seat on the City Council, winning over two seasoned political veterans, New York Assembly members Inez Dickens, 73, and Al Taylor, 65.
"I am here because, Harlem, you believed in me," Salaam said in his victory speech Tuesday night. The general election for New York City Council will be held Nov. 7.
Salaam spent six years and eight months behind bars, becoming a symbol of one of the nation's most notorious cases of wrongful conviction.
In 1989, a 28-year-old female jogger was raped in New York City's Central Park. In the aftermath, Salaam, along with Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, found themselves arrested and accused of the heinous crime. Despite being under the age of 17 at the time, all five teens were wrongfully convicted and endured years of unjust imprisonment before eventually being exonerated.
The teens, originally from Harlem, became known as the "Central Park Five."
Central Park Five member on why youth are prone to false confessions
In 1989, the Central Park Five boys confessed to a crime they didn't commit. Today, 36% of juvenile wrongful convictions involve a false confession.
