Central Park Five Summary

Throughout The Central Park Five documentary, I enjoyed diving into the personal lives of the five wrongfully convicted victims and witnessing their sides to the story. Unfortunately, during their case, their “guilt” received far more coverage and attention than their innocence ever did (Burns, Burns, & McMahon, 2012). Therefore, this documentary humanized these children and let the viewers see them as normal kids, as opposed to the “bad kids” that the media said “attacked for fun” and were a part of a “teen wolf pack” (Burns, Burns, & McMahon, 2012). I appreciated the film’s attribution to history aspect of New York City; the footage of a city consumed by crime and racial tension, in the midst of the AIDS outbreak and the savage crack wars (Burns, Burns, & McMahon, 2012). While this film was playing, the strategically directed storyline allowed me to feel as if I was there during this case and as if I knew the victims personally. By using real footage and voice clips of the interrogations

Although discriminations in some cases are the main reasons, most situations I believe are fueled by unconscious biases that society has instilled in people’s minds (Redlich, Acker, Norris, & Bonventre, 2014). Majority of people unconsciously look for and make sense of the information they are given by supporting existing stereotypes in society (Redlich, Acker, Norris, & Bonventre, 2014). Throughout cases that are interacial, they tend to be covered differently, more intensely, and have more accusations than white suspects (Redlich, Acker, Norris, & Bonventre, 2014). With cases that exonerate victims for murder and sexual assault, African Americans are far more likely to be convicted and disproportionately suffer from false confessions (Redlich, Acker, Norris, & Bonventre,