Central Park Five (Ken Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon, 2012) USA

Reviewed By Sherona Gibson:  Viewed at the AFI Fest 2012

Ken Burns an award winning documentarian is joined by daughter Sarah Burns and co-director and Husband David McMahon in the brilliantly crafted Central Park Five

In 1989 five African American and Latino teens – Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Kharey Wise were arrested and convicted of raping Trisha Meili a 29 year old white investment banker. Each spent between 6 to 13 years in prison before the 2002 criminal confession of serial rapist Matias Reyes led to their exoneration.

The media had a field day with scandalous headlines using inciting and dehumanizing language, stating that the children were “wilding” in “wolf packs”. According to former Mayor Ed Kotch “It was the crime of the century.” Donald Trump had suggested the Death Penalty while others said they should be hung in the streets.  Because New York was filled with high crime and poverty, these teens became scapegoats for long time ills, unfairly and unjustly carried the burden of an angry city. Burns suggest that this is a horrendous failure on the part of the justice system and the media. The amount of original footage, notes and interviews, for this film is nothing short of amazing. The film is heartbreaking yet inspiring, the five have since launched a civil suit against New York City.


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