In 2012, filmmaker
Ken Burns, along with his daughter and son-in-law reexamined the story of
The Central Park Five in a gripping and sad documentary that showed the flaws in the American judicial system and how a lynch mob mentality can sway a jury. The story looked back on the 1989 rape, sodomy, and assault of a white female jogger in Central Park that left her in a coma for 12 days in a hospital and how five black teens from the area were arrested and wrongfully convicted of the act. The documentary explores the life of the five leading up to the moment and their lives during and after and features interviews from all of them. It also looks back at the publicity surrounding the case that was one of the most publicized at that time. The men were sentenced to jail but were later released after DNA evidence proved they did not commit the crime and some were forced to give false statements at the had of the NYPD. During the time of the trial, Donald Trump spend nearly $85,000 in newspaper ads to claim they were guilty, even to this day, despite facts and evidence (two things he still loathes), he believes they are guilty.
The Central Park Five is a sad story of how race and the American justice system together like oil and water. It is a documentary and story that still resonates today and a must watch.
