New York's Wrongful Convictions * Child Prostitution Victory • Unemployed Iraq Veterans •Homes Before Hot Dogs • Rampant Corrective Rape •Tasering Helpless Animals

April 19 - April 25 TOP ACTIONS THIS WEEK Tell Facebook to Delete a Fan Page that Prays for the Death of President Barack Obama by Heather McCallister Sign the Petition » End Racial Profiling in Arizona by Prerna Lal Sign the Petition » World Malaria Day: Nets are Not Enough by Freedom From Hunger Sign the Petition » THIS WEEK on CHANGE.ORG New York's Wrongful Convictions Plus: Child Prostitution Victory • Unemployed Iraq Veterans •Homes Before Hot Dogs • Rampant Corrective Rape •Tasering Helpless Animals Twenty one years ago last week, five Harlem teenagers were arrested and charged with raping and brutalizing a white, 28 year old investment banker in Central Park. The teens initially denied involvement, and none of them matched the DNA evidence found at the scene of the crime. But New York City was facing an epidemic of violent crime and tense race relations at the time, and after a series of taped confessions obtained under suspect circumstances and contested during trial, the five black and Latino teens were sent to jail by a jury of New Yorkers. There was only one problem. They were innocent. In 2001, a convicted murderer and rapist confessed to the crime, and matched the DNA evidence. And with little fanfare, the "Central Park Five" had their convictions overturned — after having spent a collective 44 years in jail for a crime they did not commit. You might expect that New York would formally apologize to the wrongfully convicted and provide a settlement to help them rebuild their devastated lives. But despite a lawsuit and public outcry, the city has done nothing at all to rectify this injustice. Now, 21 years after that fateful night, a group of public officials are demanding that Mayor Bloomberg break his silence on the issue. You can join the effort to hold New York City accountable by demanding action now. If we ever hope to reform a criminal justice system that produces a frightening number of wrongful convictions of minorities, we cannot conveniently sweep these injustices under the rug. For more news and commentary from the world of change this week, check out the summaries from your favorite causes below: Child Prostitution Victory in END HUMAN TRAFFICKING Earlier this week Human Trafficking blogger Amanda Kloer wrote about a California State University Northridge professor, Kenneth Ng, who was operating a website promoting the Thai sex industry — which is notorious for its rampant child prostitution. Yet despite knowing about the offensive site and its contents, the university had not only failed to reprimand Ng — it had failed to even ask him to remove the site. Outraged, hundreds of Change.org readers stepped up the pressure and demanded that the university take action. In response to the public outcry, Professor Ng pledged to remove the site because it was "damaging the University's reputation." It was doing much worse than that, but whatever Professor Ng's excuse, women and children will no longer be found for sex through his site because of readers like you. Read more » Unemployed Iraq Veterans in POVERTY IN AMERICA There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed Iraq and Afghanistan veterans relying on savings and unemployment checks nationwide, writes Change.org ChangemakerPaul Rieckhoff, the founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. In March, unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan-era vets was an astounding 14.7 percent, five points higher than the general population. Thankfully, the Senate might be taking action to address the veteran unemployment crisis — and not a moment too soon. Read more » Homes Before Hot Dogs in END HOMELESSNESS A potential foster parent in Baltimore was recently denied the chance to provide a stable, caring environment for foster children in need of a home all because she doesn't eat pork. Although this might sound like a bad joke, End Homelessness blogger Josie Raymond writes that it's all too serious. The foster parent, Tashima Crudup, doesn't allow pork in her home because she's Muslim, and both the city and the state ban religious discrimination by health and welfare agencies. So why the denial? It's time to call for an investigation and an end to discrimination against Muslim foster families. Read more » Rampant Corrective Rape in GAY RIGHTS Millicent Gaika is a 30-year-old South African woman who was recently kidnapped, locked in a man's apartment, and "correctively raped" for being a lesbian. Gay Rights blogger Mike Jones writes that South Africa is facing an epidemic of corrective rape, with upwards of 10 women per week reporting sexual assaults by men who think that by raping them, they will turn straight. How many more stories like Millicent's have to be told before South Africa acts? Read more » Tasering Helpless Animals in ANIMALS The company Taser International wanted to prove that their product was safe when used in the arrest of someone high on methamphetamines. So what did they do? As Animals blogger Stephanie Feldstein writes, they gave meth to sixteen sheep, then blasted the animals with tasers several times so researchers could study the effect on their hearts. Why should animals suffer in the name of taser-happy law enforcement? Read more » Have a great week, – The Change.org Team