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Showing posts from December, 2012

The Central Park Five by Ken Burns

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By Moira Sullivan In 1989 a white woman was brutally assaulted and raped while jogging in Central Park.  Five teenage African American were arrested and charged with the crime.  They were picked up for being among a street gang of about 25 young black and brown men that had assaulted joggers and pedestrians in the park that night in a violent male ritual called “wilding”.  The five teens appear in the documentary –Antron McCray (who chose to only use his voice to protect his anonymity), Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam.  The crime received tremendous media attention, and the investigation seized the teens and tried to piece the story together and make it fit with the presence of the young men in the park. The accused were racially profiled and upon conviction spent time in prison from 6 to 13 years despite conflicting testimony and lack of DNA evidence. In testimony the teenagers admitted to the crime but later said they were tricked