Post-Racial Society, Huh? 15 Modern Day Cases of Racial Injustices
Central Park Five
This case rivals Trayvon Martin’s case in national attention. But the original 1989 coverage was sensationalized to paint the Central Park jogger Trisha Meili as a survival victim and these wrongfully convicted black and Latino youths (Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusuf Salaam and Kharey Wise) as teenaged mutants and a wolf pack. With inconsistencies with evidence, the five men were coerced into confessing on video to the rape.
In 2002, Matias Reyes — who was serving a life sentenced for rape and murder — confessed and pulled together missing pieces of evidence. After serving a range of six to 13 years a piece, the charges were vacated. The CP5 are waiting for the city to settle their $250 million dollar suit, even after Bill de Blasio agreed to settle the case.
