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Deep Dive: The Central Park Five (2012)

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The Central Park Five
The Central Park Five is a documentary that covers the Central Park jogger case, focusing on the events surrounding the arrests, interrogations, trials, and eventual vacating of convictions of five teenagers in 1989. The film details the violent assault on Trisha Meili, a 28-year-old investment banker, who was attacked while jogging in Central Park on April 19, 1989. It includes interviews, expert analysis, and background information that illustrate the societal and legal issues at play during the case. The documentary presents the coerced confessions of four of the five suspects, who maintained their innocence throughout. It also discusses Matias Reyes, a serial rapist who confessed to the crime in 2001, and how DNA evidence later confirmed his guilt. The film critiques the police practices and media frenzy that contributed to the wrongful convictions, culminating in the 2003 lawsuit against New York City for malicious prosecution and racial discrimination.

Why Watch

  • •See the wrongful convictions of the Central Park Five.
  • •Meet Trisha Meili, the jogger attacked in 1989.
  • •Find out how DNA evidence exonerated the five men.

Did You Know

•Trisha Meili was in a coma for 12 days after her attack in 1989.
•The New York Times called the jogger attack one of the most publicized crimes of the 1980s.
•Four of the five suspects were younger than 16 at the time of the crime.
•Matias Reyes confessed to the crime in 2001 while in prison.

Perfect For

True crime enthusiastsLegal justice advocatesNew York City history