I deleted an earlier tweet about New York city councilman Yusef Salaam because I think additional details and context are warranted.

Many people, even on the right, think the Central Park Five case is a story of five completely innocent men, railroaded at random by a racist justice system, who have now been fully and totally exonerated beyond doubt. This is not true and I’ll explain why.

I said Salaam once “took part in a gruesome gang rape,” but did not elaborate. I should have said "Yusef Salaam once confessed to participating in a gang rape. In this confession, Salaam admitted to beating jogger Trisha Meili twice with a metal pipe, and to groping her breasts while others raped her.” I should have mentioned that along with being raped, Meili was beaten so badly that her eye socket was crushed and her brain was severely damaged.