Crime and Punishment: The Central Park Jogger
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On 19th April 1989, a young, white female investment banker, jogging in Central Park, was bludgeoned, raped and left to die. The crime seized headlines and heightened New York City's simmering racial tensions. The police charged a group of Harlem teens with gang rape. The city waited for answers and prayed for the anonymous victim's recovery.
Five teenage boys, aged 14, 15 and 16, confessed on videotape to the brutal crime. Later, they recanted these confessions, claiming the police had coerced them. Although no physical evidence linked the boys to the bloody scene, all five were convicted as rapists and sent to prison. Their own words had sealed their fates. For more than a decade, the case was closed.
But nearly 13 years later, all of that changed. Another confession re-opened the case and all its old wounds. In January 2002, Matias Reyes, a 31-year-old serial rapist, confessed to beating and raping the jogger. The most shocking revelation of all is that he says he did it alone.
In prison for a series of rapes and a murder, Reyes had a brutal record; he was infamous for gouging out the eyes of his victims. The teenage boys, now young men who have all served their prison sentences, did not know him. Reyes' confession was backed up by DNA tests. Semen found inside the victim and on her sock had always been explained as belonging to a sixth mystery member of the young gang. Reyes was the answer to this puzzle but the question remained: Was he one of multiple attackers, or the lone attacker? Manhattan's district attorney was forced to consider whether the criminal justice system had made a mistake.
In December 2002, the convictions for the five young men were revoked, based on the new confession from Reyes, the new DNA evidence, and ‘troubling discrepancies’ in the videotaped confessions. The young men launched a civil suit for their years lost behind bars. Around the same time, the woman known for years only as 'The Central Park Jogger' revealed her identity and shared the story of her recovery.
Even after an investigation into startling new evidence, many argue that it is still not clear that the original defendants were wrongly convicted.
Five teenage boys, aged 14, 15 and 16, confessed on videotape to the brutal crime. Later, they recanted these confessions, claiming the police had coerced them. Although no physical evidence linked the boys to the bloody scene, all five were convicted as rapists and sent to prison. Their own words had sealed their fates. For more than a decade, the case was closed.
But nearly 13 years later, all of that changed. Another confession re-opened the case and all its old wounds. In January 2002, Matias Reyes, a 31-year-old serial rapist, confessed to beating and raping the jogger. The most shocking revelation of all is that he says he did it alone.
In prison for a series of rapes and a murder, Reyes had a brutal record; he was infamous for gouging out the eyes of his victims. The teenage boys, now young men who have all served their prison sentences, did not know him. Reyes' confession was backed up by DNA tests. Semen found inside the victim and on her sock had always been explained as belonging to a sixth mystery member of the young gang. Reyes was the answer to this puzzle but the question remained: Was he one of multiple attackers, or the lone attacker? Manhattan's district attorney was forced to consider whether the criminal justice system had made a mistake.
In December 2002, the convictions for the five young men were revoked, based on the new confession from Reyes, the new DNA evidence, and ‘troubling discrepancies’ in the videotaped confessions. The young men launched a civil suit for their years lost behind bars. Around the same time, the woman known for years only as 'The Central Park Jogger' revealed her identity and shared the story of her recovery.
Even after an investigation into startling new evidence, many argue that it is still not clear that the original defendants were wrongly convicted.
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