New York City in the 1980s was a time of extreme racism and discrimination, where political correctness didn't even exist in terms of race, and where every member of a minority race was guilty of something. 'The Central Park Five' is the story of when five African American youths were taken into custody after being accused of gang raping and murdering a woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Despite there being no evidence of their involvement, DNA or otherwise, they were interrogated for a prolonged period of time until they had no choice left but to confess to the horrendous crime that none of them committed. Their guilt was not even questioned when new evidence came to light, seemingly proving the men's innocence, and they were robbed of their youth as they served full jail terms for the crime. Eventually, their convictions were erased when the real offender confessed many years later with DNA evidence proving his admission. However, it was much too little too late for those men who were victims of the dangerously judgemental society to which they belonged.
This shocking documentary details the full extent of racism in America in the 1980s; a time when lynch mobs and hate crime were supposed to have been abolished. 'Central Park Five' has been written and directed by Ken Burns ('Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson'), David McMahon and Sarah Burns and will be released in the US on November 23rd 2012.
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