The Central Park Five
The Documentary/movie “The Central Park Five” is a story which shows the lives of five boys, between ages 14 and 17, who were wrongfully accused of a crime and imprisoned. The background of the movie is laced with stories of racial crimes and hate for blacks at the time that the story too place. In 1989, New York City was beset by deepening voids and violence against races and classes of people. Poverty and crime was rife at that time as well.
A woman was found, only clad in her bra, unconscious in Central Park. Days afterwards, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, Yousef Salaam and Raymond Santana allegedly confessed to the crime. This confession came after hours of being interrogated by homicide detectives (Chancer, 1994). The boys had been playing in the park. After announcing to the press that the boys were a small part of a larger gang who were “wilding”and assaulting cyclists and joggers (Costello, 2012).
The police seemed satisfied with the frenzy that the media showed and an outcry for justice by the public. The boys were taken to the precinct on April 19, 1989 for unlawfully assembling in the park. They were informed that they would receive a ticket for family court and be sent home afterwards. When the news broke that the woman had been beaten and raped in Central Park, the questions that were put to the boys became a lot more aggressive and accusing.
The police believed the boys were involved because of their color and race as there was nothing to tie them to the crime. The media sensation had a lot to do with the boys’ false arrest, as they used terms that would admittedly show them as being guilty. The documentary showed what happened afterwards, the teenagers were convicted and sent to prison for a decade and more. They were released and in 2002, their convictions were vacated because of the confessions of a serial rapist who had committed the crime.
The serial rapist had come in contact with one of the accused in prison and his DNA was matched with the evidence that was gathered from the scene. There was no conclusive evidence that linked the five boys to the crime. The jogger was a white woman who had no recollection of the crime. The public wanted justice, they wanted the boys to die for what they had allegedly confessed to (Costello). The police were responsible for the confessions as they employed tactics that would get the boys to confess, even though they were not guilty.
The boys’ convictions were as a result of a corrupt process which was in breach of the ethics that should have been applied. The investigation was directed by the prosecution from the outset. The boys’ were questioned even before the charges were laid against them and without their attorneys present. More rules of collecting evidence and interrogating the suspects were broken by the police than is expected, but they gave testimony to the fact afterwards. The justice system of the Unites States states that defendants are innocent until they have been proven to be guilty. The system also places pressure on police officers to make an arrest that leads to a conviction. They want the police to solve their crimes. The shame and stigma that surrounds the case of the central park five affected not only their lives, but several others. The confessions that was taken from the boys were taken by force, both physically and psychologically.
The police and prosecutors who had tried the case were jubilant. They were happy that they had gotten a conviction, not caring about what the boys or their families would go through. The media was also responsible for their publicity, which was extensive. Everyone seemed satisfied with the convictions and exhaled a sigh of relief, not wanting to find out if they were true convictions.
Based on their confession, their families at first, were convinced of the boys’ guilt and did not want to associate themselves with them (West, 2014). As a result of the confessions and later, convictions, the families were victimized. They were abused physically and psychologically by both the media and the people of New York. It was hard enough being black at that time, but to be the family of convicted felons was the last straw. The stigma was long standing and far fetching, as the boys were required to register as sex offenders for a crime that they did not commit and were forced to plead guilty for.
Personally speaking, if I were put in the position of the boys’ parents, I am not sure what I would have done. I probably would have gone as far as my skin color would allow me, in order to get the redress that the boys’ so desperately needed. I would have been sympathetic and believed in their innocence, while I outlined the fact that their parents were law abiding citizens. My son’s conviction would have traumatized me in such a way, that I would have organized a civil disobedience protest with the hopes of getting them released. I probably would have fainted when they recanted their participation in the rape.
Antron McCray’s father abandoned his family while the trial was progressing. His father had coached him in major league and was so disappointed. He apologized to Antron, while he was incarcerated and later returned home to his family. The entire case was based on racism and the lies and treachery of the police. They just wanted to close a case so that they could celebrate afterwards. This should not have been allowed to happen, as several families’ lives and livelihood were at stake. Antron’s father was also a victim, as he drank himself to death after a few years. They had not been on speaking terms.
The family experienced such shame and embarrassment, that they declined to be seen on camera during the trial and withdrew into a proverbial shell. They were not convinced of the part that the boys played in the crime, but were put through a lot of heartache and stress because of the false conviction.
In one news clip, it said that they left the courtroom in tears, and without their sons. The family was distraught and felt helpless, to say the least, because they were convinced that the boys were not guilty. The boys, now men, have gone on to file a lawsuit against the state for wrongful imprisonment and have received a settlement. This settlement will in no way compensate for their lost years, the impact the proceedings had on their family life, or their incarceration.
References
Chancer, L. (1994). Gender, Class And Race In Three High Profile Crimes: The Cases of New Bedford, Central Park and Bensonhurst. Journal Of Crime And Justice, 17(2), 167-187. doi:10.1080/0735648x.1994.9721519
Costello, R. (2012). Burns, Sarah. 2011. The Central Park Five: a chronicle of a city wilding. New York, NY: Alfred Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-59659-8. pp. 203, hardcopy. Journal Of Criminal Justice Education, 23(4), 554-556. doi:10.1080/10511253.2012.694641
West, J. (2014). Savage Portrayals: Race, Media, & the Central Park Jogger Story. American Journalism, 31(2), 283-285. doi:10.1080/08821127.2014.905373
