The Legacy of Jim Crow by Clarence A. Haynes

Author:Clarence A. Haynes [Haynes, Clarence A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

A CLOSER LOOK: THE EXONERATED FIVE

In 1989, during a time when New York City was notorious for its high crime rates, a twenty-eight-year-old white woman named Trisha Meili was found horribly beaten and raped in Central Park. Five teenagers of color—Raymond Santana, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise, ages fourteen to sixteen—were in the park at the time of the crime. They were arrested and interrogated by police. Due to the inhumane conditions of the interrogation, the five confessed to a crime they didn’t commit. They later retracted their confessions but were still convicted at trial. The coverage of the case was sensational, and the language used to describe the accused boys highlighted how Black males were historically depicted in the media. They were called “animals” and “savages” by professional news outlets.

In 2002, Matias Reyes, a convicted murderer and serial rapist, admitted to the crime against Meili. DNA testing verified his confession. By the end of that year, the convictions against the five were dismissed. Still, they had all served time for a crime they didn’t commit. Several of the five now work as advocates for criminal justice reform. The Exonerated Five’s story has been dramatized in the Ava DuVernay TV miniseries When They See Us and Yusef Salaam has written about his experience in the 2021 memoir Better, Not Bitter.

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