Matias reyes biography of george washington

NEW YORK — Thirteen years after the beating and rape of a 28-year-old jogger in Central Park, lawyers said yesterday they will try to overturn convictions of five men found guilty in the case, arguing that a DNA matchup and confession point to a convicted rapist and murderer.

At a news conference, lawyers presented a notarized confession and described DNA evidence that Matias Reyes, 31, had beaten and raped the Central Park jogger and that he had acted alone.

Attorneys on Monday will ask a judge to overturn the convictions.

"These boys did not commit the crime," said City Councilman Bill Perkins, D-Harlem, who is helping several of the youths obtain legal assistance. "These men are innocent of that rape."

Barbara Thompson of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said, "We're in the middle of a thorough review."

One of the men remains in jail, on unrelated drug charges.

But their attorney said that all of them have strugg