The wrongful conviction of five teenagers is one of the most publicized stories of unfairness and failure of the United States’ justice system in history. The teenagers, who came to be known as "The Central Park Five", lost years of their lives locked up and had to endure outrageous trauma.

Five Teenagers Who Were At The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

This is a story about blatant racism and how the evidence was not taken into consideration. Confessions were obtained in a controversial way, as everyone knows now. The Central Park Five’s story can now be seen on the streaming TV platform Netflix. Let’s take a look at what really happened.

 

The night of April 19, 1989, proved to be when these young men would see their lives change forever. A group of approximately 30 teens was hanging out in Central Park. Part of them started causing havoc and accosting people, while some of them even committed criminal acts like robberies.

The police were dispatched, and they apprehended part of the group. The next day, more teenagers related to the events of that night were also brought in for questioning. Amongst them were Antron McCray, 15; Raymond Santana, 14; Kevin Richardson, 14; Yusef Salaam, 15; and Korey Wise, 16.

A Lack Of Evidence Didn’t Stop The District Attorney

At 1:30 am, Trisha Meili, an investment banker, was found in the park. She had been brutally attacked and violated. The police immediately associated the attack with the teenagers who had been in the park. This caused the investigation to focus on who had possibly been responsible for this crime.

They aggressively interrogated the teenagers whom they had in custody. Later on, when the DNA sample obtained from the victim didn’t match any of the five teenagers accused, they dismissed these results. Instead, they chose to prosecute and charge them. After all, they had obtained what they wanted during the interrogations.

Interrogations Were Conducted Without The Teens’ Parents Or Any Legal Counsel

Initial interrogations took place between April 19 and April 20. The officers spent up to seven hours interrogating the teenagers non-stop. The young men were not able to see their parents and had no legal counsel at that time. It was a terrifying experience for all of them.

Korey Wise, who had only gone to the station to lend support to Yusef Salaam, found himself in an interrogation room as well. Finally, the officers obtained the confessions of four of them, which they recorded on videotapes. Salaam refused to say anything on record but allegedly did a verbal admission.

Twelve Years After The Trial, The Real Criminal Confessed

The problem with investigators deciding on one theory and chasing it while disregarding the evidence is that they become biased. They thought some of the young men who were causing problems in the park must have attacked Trisha, and this was the only angle they investigated. However, they were wrong.

Matias Reyes, who had actually come in close contact with some of the Central Park Five after they were imprisoned, was the real perpetrator. He was imprisoned for multiple accounts, including similar attacks to other women. After he confessed in 2002, the court decided to dismiss the charges against the Central Park Five.

Donald Trump Publicly Stated His Hate For The Central Park Five

Money is not always used in the same way. Back in 1989, Donald Trump, who was a real estate mogul before becoming the current President of the United States, paid giants ads in several newspapers to promote his message of hate towards these teenagers. He even claimed he wanted the death penalty back.

As has been established, the public is highly susceptible to what they see on the media. Trump’s ads were not without consequence. According to Yusef Salaam, his family started receiving hate mail and death threats. Trump spent $85K on these ads. Today, that would be around $180K.

Yusef Salaam Heard Korey Being Harassed

During the trial, Korey Wise explained that he had been heavily accosted during his interrogation; having been slapped and insulted. Yusef Salaam declared that he was able to hear all of this happening and was terrified. The interrogators were harder on Wise because he was the eldest of them all.

However, it is now known that Korey had hearing and learning issues. In fact, he had been so strongly bullied that he had dropped out of high school. Writers describe him as the one with the less emotional and mental maturity of them all. He was the one who got the harshest sentence.

The Threats Were Intense And Unyielding

As Korey was being harassed, the investigators told Salaam that he would be next. He was terrified and convinced that he wouldn’t be able to go back home. Like him, the rest of the teenagers started to believe they had no other way out than to confess. Anxiety took hold.

Korey later said that the police officer told him to confess, even if it wasn’t true. The veracity of this can be seen in the videotapes with his confession. There are clear contradictions in his discourse and even with the injuries found on the victim.

The Coerced Confessions That Changed Their Lives

Eventually, all five of them cracked. Believing that maybe they could go home after confessing, four of them confessed in videotapes. The District Attorney considered this as a confession as well. The boys all admitted to having touched Trisha in some way or restrained her.

They all implicated that they had collaborated while some of the other kids attacked her, but none admitted to committing the violation. However, only two of the Central Park Five knew each other before all of this took place. They retracted their confessions later, alleging the investigators had coerced them.

Yusef, Antron, And Raymond Were Tried Together And Saw Their Youth Go Away

Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, and Raymond Santana each had their own lawyer, and the trial lasted for less than two months. Trisha gave her testimony in anonymity in order to protect herself, but she was not questioned. After 10 days of deliberation, the members of the jury had reached a verdict.

Yused, Antron, and Raymond were all found guilty. They were sentenced to jail time of 5-10 years. In their case, it was in a youth correctional facility as they were being tried as minors. They all served at least six years in prison, with Salaam serving almost seven years.

The Second Trial Sealed Kevin and Korey’s Fate

Richardson and Wise were tried together. They each had their own criminal defense attorney who sustained that their clients had limited intellectual ability. Therefore, they wouldn’t have been able to make the confessions and written statements the prosecution presented. Wise was clearly emotional during the trial. He was judged as an adult.

They were both found guilty. Richardson received the maximum sentence for his age— five to ten years in a youth correctional facility. Although Wise was not found guilty of the violation per se, he received the longest sentence with five to 15 years in prison.

Manhattan District Attorney Linda Fairstein Still Refuses To Admit Any Wrongdoing

Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor responsible for the Central Park Five investigation, was considered as a feminist icon. She had a long and prolific career trying cases of violence against women and children. After her retirement, she dedicated herself to writing fictional crime novels.

Even after the confession of the real violator, Linda maintained that no wrongdoing had been done. In fact, she continued to praise the investigation as excellent work and said that this other man must have been a sixth assailant. After the release of Netflix's When They see Us, Linda’s book publisher dropped her.

Elizabeth Lederer Was Relentless In Her Accusations

Elizabeth Lederer was assigned as the trial prosecutor in the case. She is portrayed by actress Vera Farmiga in the Netflix show. Lederer was instrumental in building the case against the Central Park Five. She gave convincing arguments and opening and closing statements in both trials.

She continues to work for the DA’s office to this day, currently as a senior trial counsel in the unit established to research cold cases. Lederer also had a successful career as a law professor at Columbia University. However, after the release of the show, she decided to quit her teaching job.

Michael Sheehan Died Shortly After When They See Us Was Released

Michael Sheehan was a respected police officer. He was involved in high profile cases during his career including the Central Park Five case. He strongly denied any accusation of coercion. Even after the five men’s sentences were vacated in 2002, he continued to maintain that he believed their confessions.

Michael continued with the police force until he retired. He then started working as a crime news reporter for Fox News until 2009. He lost his battle with cancer in June 2019, around the same time When They See Us was released.

Robert Morgenthau Took A Look Back And Vacated The Sentence

Robert Morgenthau is considered an institution. He served as Manhattan’s District Attorney for decades before retiring from public office in 2009. However, he continues to work to this date even though he recently turned 100 years old. Morgenthau was involved in vacating the sentence of the five men in 2002.

When Matias Reyes confessed to the crime of violating the Central Park jogger, Morgenthau put together a team to look into this. They found that the evidence, timing, and testimony of Reyes matched and exonerated the Central Park Five. Morgenthau immediately recommended their sentences be vacated.

Telling Their Story In A Moving Way

Ava DuVernay was the one in charge of telling this very important and tragic story. She was actually first contacted by Raymond Santana. He was an admirer of her work since the full movie Selma and suggested to her on Twitter that she should tell the story of the Central Park Five.

It’s a good thing Ava was doing her social media monitoring. They met and, as she learned more about the story, she became deeply involved. She succeeded in telling it in a respectful but truthful way. It was a chance for these five men to finally tell the world their side of things.

They Finally Have Complete And Total Freedom

Wise was the only one of them who was still serving his sentence when Matias Reyes confessed. However, they had all been classified as offenders and life was very difficult for them with the weight of their past convictions on their backs. The events of 2002 meant that they were finally free.

Furthermore, telling their story to Ava must have been cathartic. The series cleared their names in front of the world. Of course, this will never give them their youth back. However, there must be some degree of release in showing that they were innocent despite the ruling of the court.

Race Played An Indisputable Role

They have often declared that they’re convinced that race had been one of the main factors that influenced their convictions. With people like Donald Trump inciting fear and hate at that time and the victim being a white woman, they had nothing going for them. At that time, it was a polarizing issue.

Many people protested against their convictions. Furthermore, after the release of the show, the Black students Organization at Columbia Law School started a petition for Professor Elizabeth Lederer to quit. It was signed by over 14K people. Race continues to be a big issue in the United States.

The Central Park Five Longed For Justice After So Much Time

After they were released, the Central Park Five looked for justice and even sued the City of New York. However, their case was delayed time after time until the new Mayor of New York, Di Blasio, took over. They reached a lawsuit settlement in 2014, which stated that they would receive a total of approximately $40 million.

Opinions regarding this were conflicted. While some people thought this was not enough, others, like the now-US President Donald Trump, continued to maintain that they were guilty. Therefore, he considered the lawsuit a dishonor to the city of New York and the victim of the violation.

12 Years Later, Wise Received The Largest  Compensation

Korey Wise was the one who served more time in prison. Therefore, he was assigned a larger amount during the settlement. It is estimated that they each received approximately $1 million for every year they spent behind bars. Wise often feared for his mental health while he was imprisoned.

He explained in a documentary recorded in 2012 that there’s no amount of cash that can be put into his bank that could fix things. The ordeal they put all of them through and their time in prison changed them forever. Some things simply can’t be bought or replaced.

Raymond Santana Was One Of The Last To leave New York

Raymond Santana decided to do something productive with the amount he was awarded. He decided to open a clothing business named Park Madison NYW. However, he no longer lives in New York City, after leaving the Big Apple sometime in 2014.

He now resides in Georgia and is the father of a teenage girl. He has not shied away from his wrongful conviction. In fact, he includes a t-shirt with his mugshot as part of his merchandise. He was the one who first contacted Ava for the filming of the show.

Yusef Salaam Found Solace In Religion

Yusef Salaam became a religious leader in the facility where he served his time. He has continued to practice his faith intensely and now has ten children. He decided to dedicate his life to helping others and is outspoken about his views regarding the need for change in the system.

Salaam also gets a paycheck from speaking at public events. He likes to give motivational talks that bring the public to reflect on the broached subjects through his company called Yusef Speaks. He also uses his social media accounts to bring light to those responsible for the injustice committed against them in 1989.

Antron McCray Has Had Difficulty Letting Go Of The Past

Although Antron McCray left New York as soon as he was released from prison, he has been unable to escape his past. He has a wife and six kids and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. However, despite how much distance he has put between him and the city that brought so much suffering for him, he can’t let go.

He has openly declared that he deeply despises the people who put them in jail unfairly. However, he wishes he was able to let go of these things. He might benefit from a visit to a psychologist in order to deal with these painful issues.

Kevin Richardson Now Works With Environmental Issues

Kevin Richardson received an honorary diploma from his school in the Bronx years after his sentence was vacated. He didn’t go too far from New York and now lives with his wife and daughters in New Jersey. Richardson has confessed to dealing with PTSD as an aftermath of his experience.

Kevin now works for elderly people; specifically, providing environmental services. He continues to be outspoken about the events of 1989. For him, it’s very important that history doesn’t repeat itself. He believes that by talking about it, they can prevent similar things from happening again.

Korey Wise Wants To Help Others Like Him

Korey Wise continues to live in New York City. However, he decided to find a way to help other people who might have been wrongfully convicted. This is why he funded the Korey Wise Innocence Project. The aim of this initiative is to provide free legal advice.

Korey asked to be put in isolation several times while he was in prison to avoid any violence that took place amongst the other prisoners. Isolation can bring anyone to depression, but Korey kept his spirits up. He’s currently focused on the positive, keeping things light and spreading goodwill.

The Real Perpetrator Will Never Pay For This Crime

As it turned out, the real violator on that fateful night was Matias Reyes. He confessed to the crime while he was in prison. He has been sentenced for numerous charges, including violations, murder, and robbery. However, due to the statutes of limitation, he can’t be tried for this specific crime.

Reyes’ testimony was verified by comparing his DNA with that found at the scene and in the victim. It was an exact match. Reyes has said that he acted completely alone and that the Central Park Five had nothing to do with it. He’s currently doing time in prison.

A Special Talk With Oprah Revealed Their Feelings About When They See Us

Oprah interviewed the Central Park Five in a special that was released in June 2019 both on Netflix and on OWN, Oprah’s channel. In the special, Oprah asked them about their feelings at the time of the events and now that they saw the Netflix production.

Richardson declared that while it's painful, he saw it as an opportunity to bring awareness to racial injustices. Considering the recent events that have taken place in the United States, race continues to be an important issue. McCray was open about the fact that his mental health has never been the same.

Ava Revealed To Oprah The Touching Reason For The Name Of The Series

When They See Us was originally set to be called Central Park Five. However, as Ava revealed to Oprah, she disagreed with this name. As she explained, the Central Park Five had been a name created by the prosecution and the media that dehumanized the young teenagers being accused.

Therefore, she wanted a title that reminded people that they’re human too. These innocent men suffered due to social injustice and misconduct by the investigators. Korey Wise’s only "crime", specifically, was being there for his friend. A decision that he sometimes questions if he would do again.

The Victim Of That Fateful Night

Trisha Meili is the victim that many people often ignore in this entire situation. She was brutally attacked, resulting in her being in a coma for 12 days after the incident. The doctors who were tending to her thought that she would not make it, given the magnitude of her injuries.

Fortunately, Trisha woke up. However, she didn’t have any recollection of the attack. After months of physical therapy, she was able to go back to her work. Eventually, she went back to running and joined a group of disabled people. But some of the consequences of the attack were permanent.

Trisha Lost A Lot That Night But Has Managed To Thrive

Trisha continues to have balance problems to this day. She lost her sense of smell and sometimes experiences double vision. However, she managed to push through this horrific experience. Although her identity remained hidden for years, she decided to make a public statement.

In 2003, after Matias Reyes’ confession, she released her book titled I Am The Central Park Jogger, with the aim to motivate people. Thousands of copies were sold. In it, she told her story of survival. According to her, there’s always a way, no matter what traumas you face.

Trisha Meili Now Helps Other Victims Like Her

Eventually, Trisha left her job in finance and is now dedicated to helping other victims like her. She often goes to Mount Sinai, where she was hospitalized, and works with victims of violations. Trisha has also become a motivational speaker, telling her experience and how to move on from there.

Trisha met her husband in 1995, and they got married in 1996. She has declared that, according to the medical report, her injuries could correspond with an attack made by multiple people. However, she has said that if Reyes’ declarations are true and he acted alone, then a great injustice was committed.