On April 19, 1989, the world came to an abrupt halt for five teenagers. On that night, five Harlem teens were arrested and subsequently charged with raping and brutalizing a female jogger in Central Park. Not until 2002 would all five be released from prison, after serving a combined total of 44 years for a crime that — it's become clear — they never committed.
Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, and Kharey Wise were easy targets — young minorities during an era in which violent crime and the crack epidemic were taking over New York City. Known now as the "Central Park Five," the group of teenage black and Hispanic males admitted that they'd been in the park that evening. But it wasn't until after two days of nonstop questioning and interrogation that they were also pressured into confessing to the rape and beating of the 28-year-old white investment banker.
Although there was DNA and blood at the scene, none of it was matched to the suspected teens. Nonetheless, the event became its own kind of perfect storm. A city on edge, sensationalist media and a district attorney desperate for recognition: all factors that came together to send the teens to prison.
As the Central Park Five were hauled off to prison, another young man would go on to rape at least four more women, killing one pregnant mother in front of her two young children. Matias Reyes was 17 years old in 1989, but it would take him until 2001 before he would admit to raping and beating the jogger the Central Park Five had been convicted of assaulting. (Reyes says he assumed the jogger, Trisha Meili, would die where he left her, as more than 80% of her blood had already been lost after the assault.)
After Reyes confessed and his DNA was matched to the crime, the Central Park Five's convictions were vacated. But by that time, they'd grown into men. Several had already completed their prison sentences, some over a decade long. Where's their justice today?
New York State Senator Bill Perkins recently sponsored a bill asking that the Central Park Five receive compensation for their wrongful conviction. He's joined by city councilman Charles Barron, who's attended various rallies for the Five, and is calling on Mayor Bloomberg to take action. Will you add your voice to their call? Let's show them that the country won't stand by and allow this injustice to continue. Take action with other Change.org members to hold New York City accountable today.
Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon
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