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“When They See Us: Mini Series On Central Park 5 Was A Prelude To The O.J. Simpson Case, And Highlights Historic White Outrage & Fear”

Film maker Ava Duvernay’s Netflix series about the wrongful conviction of five black and latino boys in the late 1980’s for the beating and rape of a white New York investment banker, is perhaps one of the most gut wrenching, soul stirring and provocative stories appearing on film regarding race in America since Alex Haley’s “Roots.” The writer captured the essence of what many criminal defendants of color have been claiming for decades. While the vast majority of their cries regarding police brutality, coercion of statements, and other illegal police tactics seem to always fall upon death ears, in a rare fashion the “Central Park 5 case” was textbook in supporting these claims, but only after the real perpetrator of the crime came forward and confessed.

As depicted in the “When They See Us” series, the evidence initially didn’t fit a multiple suspect scenario, but prosecutor Linda Fairstein pressured police investigators to round up any black person in the park on the night of the attack. In a wide dragnet similar to how mobs of angry whites would gather up any black person in sight when the mere implication of disrespect, assault, or any perceived harm of a white woman was alleged to have happened, police set out and did just that at the behest of Fairstein. The fact that none of the “Central Park 5” knew each other, is a clear indication of just how random police were in their selection of potential suspects.

With the exception of Corey Wise who was 16 years of age at the time of the crime (Considered an adult at age 16 in the State of New York), none of the youths’ parents were present during the initial police interviews and interrogations, which police and prosecutors should have known would be problematic from the gate. Then add food and rest deprivation along with alleged police brutality to the mix, and even the most hardened or resilient kid between the ages of 14-16 could potentially say what ever police authorities wanted them to say. The kids cracked under this kind of pressure after being hounded for 12 of more hours, in an effort for no other provocation but to simply get out of there, and while not fully understanding the consequences of implicating themselves in a felony crime of this nature.

Now that the Netflix series has gone viral, many of the law enforcement officials involved in the prosecution of the Central Park case have come forward and denounced Ava Duverney’s version of the case as “complete fabrication,” despite to the contrary that there was no physical evidence linking any of the boys to the crime. The only evidence that investigators had was circumstantial in the frivolous confessions extracted from the youths during their initial interviews with the police, and without the presence of their parents or legal counsel which was a direct violation of their constitutional rights. Yet Fairstein and others pushed the prosecution of these juvenile subjects, when in fact the confessions should never have been permitted to be entered as evidence on the grounds that they were illegally obtained. This is the American justice system version when people of color lives are in the balance.

During a CNN interview former police officer Eric Reynolds claimed that Duvernay’s version was marred with inaccuracy, and chiefly the claim that the youths were interviewed without their parents present. Reynolds claimed that the parents were in fact there during the interviews, and implored viewers to watch the interviews in their entirety for themselves. Reynolds claims are nothing more than an attempt to gain support from the white American public in the belief that the “Central Park 5” were in fact guilty. However, when you watch the confessions you see that the youths were asked if they had previously made a statement to police regarding what they were about to tell prosecutors. Law enforcement never talk about the police interviews or reveal those recordings, and when you consider the fact that known of them knew each other, juxtapose to the confessions where they implicate each other and fail to align their statements with the evidence or the correct location of the crime, its clear that something doesn’t add up. (Eric Reynolds CNN interview)


“BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE”

— Donald Trump

The official’s consistent posture of pointing to the youth’s being guilty isn’t just preposterous considering the facts we now know, but it points to a sickness that could have only derived from the kind of blood thirst mob mentally that permeated the New York media at the height of the “Central Park Jogger” case. Since the crime involved a brutal rape and attack of a white woman by an alleged group of savage black youth, even wealthy business tycoon Donald Trump couldn’t contain his personal outrage at the time. In fact, Trump took out full page ads in all of the major New York newspapers calling for the death penalty to be reinstated in the state. “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE,” the ads read. Trump’s public and personal posture fueled outrage within the white American public, and made the alleged confessions appear even more damning and believable.

Although years later when the real perpetrator emerged and confessed, we learned the true extent of the facts in the case. It was a complete shame what prosecutors and the police did to those boys, and the emotionally charged film left many viewers readily admitting that the series brought them to tears. The anger within the black community mostly stem from how these youths lives were snatched away from them at such a young age, when prosecutors and officials may knowingly have aggressively prosecuted them for crimes they may have known they didn’t commit. Also, the constant denial by officials despite glaring elements of the case to the contrary, is simply a common practice by law enforcement around the country, in what appears to be a national public policy by police agencies regarding people of color within the criminal justice system, so much so that it seemed to be a prelude to so many other highly publicized cases with black defendants.

Just six years later the “mob mentality” would rear its ugly head once again during the O.J. Simpson case. Known as the trial of the century, Simpson’s murder trial for the killing of his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman was also heavily publicized within the media, and just like in the “Central Park 5” defendant’s case Simpson was crucified in the media long before the case even went to trial. The circumstances of the cases did differ in terms of the actual crime and criminal charges, and Simpson had an alleged history of domestic violence that may have helped elevate the public’s belief in his culpability in the killings. Yet, both cases involving violence toward at least one white female in each case seem to trump (no pun intended) the presumption of innocence for all defendants in the subject criminal cases.

Let us also not forget that just 7 years prior to the “Central Park” case, the American public had a wake up call and an extremely harsh look at the policing culture in our nation that unfolded before the entire country, when an amateur video surfaced showing the brutal police beating of motorist Rodney King. Despite the clear and convincing evidence of police brutality, Los Angeles police along with the news media, painted a haunting image of King’s criminal history. Its a tactic widely utilized today to some how justify the brutality against criminal suspects of color, in an effort to overshadow the wrong doing and often criminal conduct of the police, and aid in soliciting these cultural police practices to the American public that the defendants deserved it because they are bad people.

Like the “central Park 5” and O.J. Simpson cases, the Rodney King beating in 1992 was a highly publicized incident as well, but the irony of it is, even with video footage of a seemingly docile and non-combative Rodney King being pummeled by police, King was made to be the villain in a case where the officers involved in the beating were initially acquitted of any wrong doing. The media and a bold, apathetic, and sick white American public sided with police, while claiming King was a big violent dude, and even though he lay subdued on the ground under vicious attack by police batons, he was still some how a legitimate threat to a volume of police officers at the scene.

Moreover, as the number of police shootings of unarmed black people continues to rise in a national epidemic, its clear to many within the black community, violence and criminal persecution that once openly plagued blacks, when in an instance and for no other provocation other than mere suspicion or false allegations of a crime against society’s code of conduct for blacks, that while its not as overt like during slavery or the time of Jim Crow, its more organized, sophisticated, and still has the approval and backing of the white American public. When you look deeply in to the annals of history in the American criminal justice system where black people are concerned, you’ll discover a consistent pattern of unfairness in comparison to their white counterparts when similarly situated when facing criminal prosecution.

What is it that has caused such an unbalanced scale of justice in the United States along the lines of race? Some say its white fear, white supremacy, and white privilege. No matter what the cause actually is, there is a plethora of cases historically, that sheds light on the treatment of black people who find themselves embroiled with the law. The “Central Park 5” case is indicative of how our children are not immune from white American injustice.

The People’s Champion

I’m Crime Blogger David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
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Film maker Ava Duvernay’s Netflix series about the wrongful conviction of five black and latino boys in the late 1980’s for the beating and rape of a white New York investment banker, is perhaps one of the most gut wrenching, soul stirring and provocative stories appearing on film regarding race in America since Alex Haley’s “Roots.” The writer captured the essence of what many criminal defendants of color have been claiming for decades. While the vast majority of their cries regarding police brutality, coercion of statements, and other illegal police tactics seem to always fall upon death ears, in a rare fashion the “Central Park 5 case” was textbook in supporting these claims, but only after the real perpetrator of the crime came forward and confessed.

As depicted in the “When They See Us” series, the evidence initially didn’t fit a multiple suspect scenario, but prosecutor Linda Fairstein pressured police investigators to round up any black person in the park on the night of the attack. In a wide dragnet similar to how mobs of angry whites would gather up any black person in sight when the mere implication of disrespect, assault, or any perceived harm of a white woman was alleged to have happened, police set out and did just that at the behest of Fairstein. The fact that none of the “Central Park 5” knew each other, is a clear indication of just how random police were in their selection of potential suspects.

With the exception of Corey Wise who was 16 years of age at the time of the crime (Considered an adult at age 16 in the State of New York), none of the youths’ parents were present during the initial police interviews and interrogations, which police and prosecutors should have known would be problematic from the gate. Then add food and rest deprivation along with alleged police brutality to the mix, and even the most hardened or resilient kid between the ages of 14-16 could potentially say what ever police authorities wanted them to say. The kids cracked under this kind of pressure after being hounded for 12 of more hours, in an effort for no other provocation but to simply get out of there, and while not fully understanding the consequences of implicating themselves in a felony crime of this nature.

Now that the Netflix series has gone viral, many of the law enforcement officials involved in the prosecution of the Central Park case have come forward and denounced Ava Duverney’s version of the case as “complete fabrication,” despite to the contrary that there was no physical evidence linking any of the boys to the crime. The only evidence that investigators had was circumstantial in the frivolous confessions extracted from the youths during their initial interviews with the police, and without the presence of their parents or legal counsel which was a direct violation of their constitutional rights. Yet Fairstein and others pushed the prosecution of these juvenile subjects, when in fact the confessions should never have been permitted to be entered as evidence on the grounds that they were illegally obtained. This is the American justice system version when people of color lives are in the balance.

During a CNN interview former police officer Eric Reynolds claimed that Duvernay’s version was marred with inaccuracy, and chiefly the claim that the youths were interviewed without their parents present. Reynolds claimed that the parents were in fact there during the interviews, and implored viewers to watch the interviews in their entirety for themselves. Reynolds claims are nothing more than an attempt to gain support from the white American public in the belief that the “Central Park 5” were in fact guilty. However, when you watch the confessions you see that the youths were asked if they had previously made a statement to police regarding what they were about to tell prosecutors. Law enforcement never talk about the police interviews or reveal those recordings, and when you consider the fact that known of them knew each other, juxtapose to the confessions where they implicate each other and fail to align their statements with the evidence or the correct location of the crime, its clear that something doesn’t add up. (Eric Reynolds CNN interview)


“BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE”

— Donald Trump

The official’s consistent posture of pointing to the youth’s being guilty isn’t just preposterous considering the facts we now know, but it points to a sickness that could have only derived from the kind of blood thirst mob mentally that permeated the New York media at the height of the “Central Park Jogger” case. Since the crime involved a brutal rape and attack of a white woman by an alleged group of savage black youth, even wealthy business tycoon Donald Trump couldn’t contain his personal outrage at the time. In fact, Trump took out full page ads in all of the major New York newspapers calling for the death penalty to be reinstated in the state. “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE,” the ads read. Trump’s public and personal posture fueled outrage within the white American public, and made the alleged confessions appear even more damning and believable.

Although years later when the real perpetrator emerged and confessed, we learned the true extent of the facts in the case. It was a complete shame what prosecutors and the police did to those boys, and the emotionally charged film left many viewers readily admitting that the series brought them to tears. The anger within the black community mostly stem from how these youths lives were snatched away from them at such a young age, when prosecutors and officials may knowingly have aggressively prosecuted them for crimes they may have known they didn’t commit. Also, the constant denial by officials despite glaring elements of the case to the contrary, is simply a common practice by law enforcement around the country, in what appears to be a national public policy by police agencies regarding people of color within the criminal justice system, so much so that it seemed to be a prelude to so many other highly publicized cases with black defendants.

Just six years later the “mob mentality” would rear its ugly head once again during the O.J. Simpson case. Known as the trial of the century, Simpson’s murder trial for the killing of his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman was also heavily publicized within the media, and just like in the “Central Park 5” defendant’s case Simpson was crucified in the media long before the case even went to trial. The circumstances of the cases did differ in terms of the actual crime and criminal charges, and Simpson had an alleged history of domestic violence that may have helped elevate the public’s belief in his culpability in the killings. Yet, both cases involving violence toward at least one white female in each case seem to trump (no pun intended) the presumption of innocence for all defendants in the subject criminal cases.

Let us also not forget that just 7 years prior to the “Central Park” case, the American public had a wake up call and an extremely harsh look at the policing culture in our nation that unfolded before the entire country, when an amateur video surfaced showing the brutal police beating of motorist Rodney King. Despite the clear and convincing evidence of police brutality, Los Angeles police along with the news media, painted a haunting image of King’s criminal history. Its a tactic widely utilized today to some how justify the brutality against criminal suspects of color, in an effort to overshadow the wrong doing and often criminal conduct of the police, and aid in soliciting these cultural police practices to the American public that the defendants deserved it because they are bad people.

Like the “central Park 5” and O.J. Simpson cases, the Rodney King beating in 1992 was a highly publicized incident as well, but the irony of it is, even with video footage of a seemingly docile and non-combative Rodney King being pummeled by police, King was made to be the villain in a case where the officers involved in the beating were initially acquitted of any wrong doing. The media and a bold, apathetic, and sick white American public sided with police, while claiming King was a big violent dude, and even though he lay subdued on the ground under vicious attack by police batons, he was still some how a legitimate threat to a volume of police officers at the scene.

Moreover, as the number of police shootings of unarmed black people continues to rise in a national epidemic, its clear to many within the black community, violence and criminal persecution that once openly plagued blacks, when in an instance and for no other provocation other than mere suspicion or false allegations of a crime against society’s code of conduct for blacks, that while its not as overt like during slavery or the time of Jim Crow, its more organized, sophisticated, and still has the approval and backing of the white American public. When you look deeply in to the annals of history in the American criminal justice system where black people are concerned, you’ll discover a consistent pattern of unfairness in comparison to their white counterparts when similarly situated when facing criminal prosecution.

What is it that has caused such an unbalanced scale of justice in the United States along the lines of race? Some say its white fear, white supremacy, and white privilege. No matter what the cause actually is, there is a plethora of cases historically, that sheds light on the treatment of black people who find themselves embroiled with the law. The “Central Park 5” case is indicative of how our children are not immune from white American injustice.

The People’s Champion

I’m Crime Blogger David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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