The Central Park Five (2012) on Netflix
NR20121h 59mCrimeDocumentaryHistory
In April 1989, police arrest five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem over the rape of a woman in Central Park. Four say their statements were coerced; all five maintain their innocence.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb7.7/108,392 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes92%
Trailer
Plot summary
In April 1989, Trisha Meili, a 28-year-old investment banker, is raped and beaten while jogging in Central Park, and spends twelve days in a coma. That same night a large group of youths is thought to have attacked eight other people in the park, two of them left unconscious. Police arrest five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem, and the charges include the rape and the assault of a male jogger. Four of the five give accounts of being coerced into confessing, withdraw those confessions before trial and say they are innocent. Interviews with the men and expert analysis trace the case through a city troubled by violence and racial tension, a press seeking sensational stories and a public demanding answers.
Cast
- Craig Steven Wilderas Himself - Historian
- LynNell Hancockas Herself - Journalist
- Calvin O. Butts IIIas Himself - Reverend (as Rev. Calvin Butts)
Show all 20 cast
- Raymond Santana Sr.as Himself - Raymond's Father
- Michael Warrenas Himself - Lawyer
- Natalie Byfieldas Herself - Daily News
- Saul Kassinas Self - Social Psychologist
- Michael Josephas Self - Defense Lawyer
- Ronald Goldas Self - Juror #5
- Humberto Arroyoas Self (archive footage)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Central Park Five (2012)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Sarah Burns, daughter of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, worked for a summer as a paralegal in the office of one of the lawyers suing the city on behalf of the five convicted men, and had written her undergraduate thesis on racism in the media coverage, which inspired this documentary.
- A 2002 investigation by the district attorney's office found that DNA analysis identified the real attacker as the sole contributor of the semen found on the rape victim. On that new evidence the office recommended the court vacate the five men's convictions on all charges, which it did.
- The real attacker, convicted in 1990 as a serial rapist and murderer, confessed in 2001 to the crime against the female jogger, first to another inmate in prison and later to authorities, and said he had acted alone.
- Ken Burns said he hoped the release of the documentary would push the city to settle the case against it. The city settled for $41 million in 2014, after Bill de Blasio was elected as mayor.
