Tawana Brawley, 39
At the tender age of 15, Wappinger Falls, N.Y., native Tawana Brawley garnered national media attention in 1987 when she accused six white men, including the then-New York prosecutor and police officers, of rape. Brawley’s advisers included Rev. Al Sharpton and attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason. She claimed racial epithets were written on her body that read: “KKK,” “N—–,” AND “B—-.”
In October 1988, the grand jury concluded that Brawley fabricated the entire story and even went so far as to create the appearance of an attack. The prosecutor sued Brawley and her three advisers for defamation.
