Central Park Jogger Case

Introduction

This paper discusses the Juvenile justice defendant case of “Central Park Jogger” by contextualizing it in theory of the Black Brute stereotype which depicts African American men as innately violent and rapist. There are many cases of legal and extra-legal punishment against black men. The treatments of the “Central Park Five” specify that the Black Brute theory influenced the Central Park convictions.

The Facts of the Case

The case engaged the rape and assault of a female jogger in Central Park, New York, on April 19, 1989. The name of the victim was Trisha Meili. 05 juveniles (which included 01 Hispanic and04 African Americans) were put on trial and sentenced for the crime. In 2002, the sentences were ended because the real criminal Matias Reyes stated to have executed the offense single-handedly and the evidence of DNA verified his connection in the case. (Washington, 46)

Description and Legal Definition Of The Crime

Among those interrogated were fourteen-year-old Kevin Richardson, fourteen-year-old Raymond Santana, fifteen-year-old Yusef Salaam, fifteen-year-old Antron McCray, and sixteen-year-old Kharey Wise. After interrogations which lasted as long as twenty-eight hours, each of the youngsters confessed to involvement in attacking and raping Meili. None confessed to actually raping her, but each said he had held or hit her, and each blamed the actual rape on one or more of the others. Although each of the defendants later maintained his innocence, insisting that the confessions were coerced, all five were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of between five and fifteen years. (Timothy, 12-15)

Discussion of the Trial

The incident lives as one of the most ethnically conflict-ridden in modern history of the USA, and until January 2001, the case was considered closed. Reyes' confession, however, changed that. After Reyes confessed, authorities ordered DNA tests which revealed that semen and pubic hair found at the crime scene—unattributable to any of the five convicted of the rape—was Reyes.' Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau instantaneously launched an investigation, scrutinizing both Reyes' confession and the 15,000 pages of testimony and evidence presented during the Central Park rape trial. Morgenthau found that Reyes' confession accurately described the crime scene and the jogger's injuries, while the youths' confessions were inconsistent with each other and with the physical evidence. Further, Morgenthau found that Reyes had confessed with precision to several other rapes for which he was never charged. On December 5, 2002, upon concluding his investigation, Morgenthau filed with the court a 58-page recommendation that the sentences of the all juveniles were ended. The Court also ordered to save the Central Park Five from their punishments. (www.imdb.com)

The Court Decision and Reason

The court convicted all juveniles in 1990 for the offence. In 2002, the real culprit confessed to commit the crime and his DNA also confirmed this. It resulted in recommendation by district attorney to vacate the sentences of the juveniles initially charged and convicted. (O'Shaughnessy, 47)

Despite the revelations suggesting the youths' innocence, some detectives, members of the press, and police officials stay certain of the juveniles' ...