Exonerated Five member Raymond Santana finally opened up on Instagram on September 12 about his public divorce with model Chandra Davis, more commonly known as Deelishis.
After Deelishis reportedly vilified her former beau, the advocate took to social media to tell his side of the story. He claimed he was not the horrible father she tried to make him out to be.
Santana captioned the post, “I GUESS I’M READY TO TELL MY STORY NOW…..I was a great HUSBAND and FATHER to kids who weren’t mine. I gave my heart to someone who didn’t deserve me, let alone love me… I know what I bring to the table. I have a whole lot of LOVE to give.. and I’m here for it.. for those running their mouths.” Santana continued to remind everyone that he was the one who initiated the separation, despite what Deelishis was trying to convey to the media, “Remember I’m the one who petitioned for the divorce.. not her..#newchapter #newlove #Goddid #draftedbygod..”
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A day later, Santana added another post to cement his status as an advocate. He didn’t want to be reduced to being the ex-husband of a reality television star. In the second post, he listed some things he’d done for the community.
“I fight against a system that is trying to lock our children up..they rather have them occupy a prison cell than a college dorm. I travel across the country speaking at universities, high schools and prisons about my experience and being one of the Exonerated 5. I help push legislation that will help protect our children. I help to inspire a whole generation, and ya try to reduce me to just being married to a reality star. I’m bigger than that.. don’t try to change my narrative.. my purpose is bigger than that, and I’m constantly working to help create change. Ya gonna respect my Assignment.”
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Santana is a member of the Exonerated Five, one of five Black and Latino youths who were wrongfully accused and arrested for falsely raping a white woman who was running in Central Park during the late 1980s. Santana has since advocated for justice system reformation and worked to disassemble the school-to-prison pipeline.
