The Central Park Five: The Cost of Freedom

Have you ever taken account of things that have been granted to you? 

Have you ever thought about the expense of simply living in a world today?

Freedom. It's ironic that freedom is the cost we pay to be able to live freely. 

It only takes a moment to lose our privilege and to realize we are not as free as we suppose we are. From the very beginning, when you are a fetus, you are bound by law. The power to enforce these laws correctly, without any wrongdoing, lies in the hands of the higher authorities. 

It is up to these authorities to either, use or abuse their power. Unfortunately, in 1989, a heavy price was paid by 5 teenage boys who were sent to prison for a crime they did not commit. The Central Park Five were charged with the rape of a woman who remained unknown to them. 

What was their fault? Were they at the wrong place at the wrong time?  Was it negligent police work? Was the crime carefully planned? Are the Central Park Five innocent? 

The Central Park Jogger Case 

On April 19, 1989, a group of young boys aged between 14 and 17 were walking in Manhattan's Central Park around 9:00 p.m, when various assaults, robberies and attacks were reported to the Police. At their arrival, the group of approximately 30 boys, began to run in different directions while the police chased them. 

It was found that a few of those boys had attacked the joggers and cyclists while the others were witnesses and several did not know of any such violence. The police managed to apprehend at least 20 teenagers by 10:00 p.m who were then taken for interrogation. 

Of those 20 teens, five innocent boys named Yusuf Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Korey Wise were taken into custody. A total of 10 teens were tried for the attacks, their participation remained unknown. 

While the boys remained in custody, at 1:30 a.m, Trisha Meilli's naked, gagged, blood stained body was found near a shallow ravine in the park. She was raped and suffered severe brain damage which put her in a coma for 12 days. The police was eager for a confession from the boys in custody in order to shut the case. 

The five innocent boys were unaware, afraid and naive about the law which gave the upper hand to the police. The boys were coerced into answering the questions even after claiming that they did not know anything about any rape in the park. Most of them did not even see a woman jogging in the park. 

The five boys were questioned for 48 hours, without the presence of a lawyer or their parents which is against the law of the State. They had not eaten, nor given a bathroom break. They were tried in separate rooms and unaware about each others names. 

The police promised them that they would be allowed to go home if they co-operated during the interrogation. The naive boys fell prey to the words of these corrupted officers and began convicting each other with the hope that that they would be set free.  

They confessed that they were a part of the rape but it was committed by another one of the boys. Apart from Yusuf Salaam, the confession of the four boys was recorded on video, providing concrete proof of the crimes. 

By the time Meilli was fit to appear at the trial, she had lost her memory of the attack. After a highly publicized trial, the teenage boys were eventually acquitted and sent to their respective correctional facilities for a term of 5-11 years.  

Yusuf Salaam

Although Salaam was a witness to the vandalism on that fateful April night, he was unaware about any rape that was committed until the police took him into custody for being one of the suspects present at the park. 

Fortunately, Salaam's mother had known about his son being taken to the station and she arrived just before the forced video confession could be recorded. While Salaam was charged with the crimes, she had made sure that the authorities did not question him further without her presence. 

Raymond Santana Jr

On April 19, 1989, Santana and a group of friends went to Central Park as usual, to play basketball That decision changed his life forever, when he was later taken into custody for being a potential suspect. 

Unaware about his rights, Santana recorded a video confession of committing the crime. He was repeating the names that the police would tell him and wrongfully convicted another one of the boys of committing the rape.  

Kevin Richardson

Richardson had followed the older boys into the park hoping to get to know a few of them, when he realized that it was the wrong company. Before he knew it, the police arrived and chased the boys. He was beaten by one of the officers which left him with a bruised face when he was taken into custody. 

An afraid Richardson was coerced into confessing that he had committed the rape due to his wounded face which could serve as a strong evidence for the same. However, just like the other boys, since he was promised to go home, he convicted another one of the boys. 

Antron McCray 

McCray was another one of the boys who refused to admit to a crime that he did not commit. He was not only frightened and anxious, but also stubborn. The team of police and detectives coerced him for hours, but McCray did not budge. 

It was only when McCray's father arrived at the station, that he decided to lie and give in to the police. McCray's father had a troubled past and the police had threatened to let that out if his son did not confess. Unfortunately, McCray's father was unaware that he had dug his own grave and prepared his sons casket. 

Korey Wise 

Wise went through the most tormenting time of all the boys when he was put in one of the most notorious prisons, the Rikers Island, at a mere age of 16. He was considered an adult according to the law and the harsh reality of being an adult was shown to him when he was beaten at the station itself. 

An extremely disappointing truth was that Wise was not even on the list of suspects. He was accompanying his friend, Yusuf Salaam and happened to fall asleep at the station. He woke up to being committed of a crime and eventually confessing after being coerced and beaten. 

Why Were The Exonerated Five Wrongfully Convicted?

In all the above sentences, I have referred to the boys as 'innocent', 'teenage' or 'young'. The harsh reality has been ignored. These boys were not only punished for a crime they did not commit, but were punished because of the color of their skin. 

While all the newspapers and articles in 1989 referred to the boys as "black teenage boys", it is time that the youth today understands the importance of casual racism. We need to grow out of the stereotypes associated with our skin color. 

If a person cannot correct or fix their flaw in a minute, it is not polite to point it out to them. You can change your clothes, shoes or a tie in a minute but it is impossible to change your skin, height, weight or a scar in a minute.It is essential to imbibe this reality of life in order to become a better person. 

Donald Trump ordered the death penalty to be reinstated during the trial of these innocent boys. He paid a heavy sum only to advertise his racism in the newspapers. The skin color of these teenagers was enough for the media, the politicians and the racists to convict them of a heinous crime. Does racism hold more power than humanity? 

Besides, the Central Park Joggers Case is a proof of incompetency of the judicial system and its laws. The laws were firstly constructed for the well-being and protection of the citizens, not to be abused and refused to the citizens in times of need. 

Five young boys were stolen of their innocence, boyhood and future by the law that claims to be made for them. They became men the moment that the judge pronounced them guilty. They learnt the ways of the world at a mere age of 14 and 16. They were forced to grow up before puberty even had the chance to transform them. 

Is the system made that way? The lawyers representing the state were aware about the boys innocence. Were they only doing their job? Did they not have the power to save the lives of these five boys? Was wrongfully convicting five innocent boys a part of their job?

It is unfair to condemn and shame only one person or the group of detectives. However, this does not negate the fact that the detectives could have done justice to their job and found the right culprit. However, justice was a mere joke throughout this trial.

Several people are responsible for this negligence and no amount of compensation can get those men any justice, even to this day. After being exonerated in 2002, they have been able to talk about their trauma and share their story with the world without any guilt. 

However, how can we empathize with them anymore? They have been shamed their whole lives. Spending years in a correctional facility, the boys were convinced that they had committed a crime. 

How can we bring back the child that was killed when the judge pronounced them 'guilty'?

How can we pay this debt of justice? 

Written by Jerusha Patel