Mini-series - 4 episodes
Created by: Ava DuVernay
Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Michael K. Williams, Logan Marshall-Green, Joshua Jackson, Blair Underwood, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, and Kylie Bunbury
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer & More info
Plot
This series spans from 1989 to 2014 focusing on the Central Park jogger case where five juveniles were convicted of assault and rape. They were convicted twice before their sentences were vacated in 2002 when the real perpetrator confessed to the crimes.
Verdict
From the first episode this draws you in. This chronicles the injustice of the justice system. What happened to these kids is brutal, and it's all the worse because it's true. This isn't the only time cops have coerced a confession or made the confession fit what they want to have happened.
While the justice system doesn't always fail, a failure like this is especially egregious when it fails at every step of the way, from the cops to the DA to the trial. It's a tragedy.
The series also depicts life after incarceration and it's bleak. When you can't get a job it's tempting to turn to crime.
Watch it.
Review
The first episode is very good. Five kids are accused of crimes and coerced into confessing. They're pushed to name each other as committing the crime even though they don't know each other. The confessions are a mess yet somehow these kids were convicted.
The kids finally meet in a jail cell. One of the kids went to the jail to support his friend and ends up getting charged.
The press doesn't call them alleged attackers. They've already been declared guilty, and you can't help but notice the racial undertones. White guys accused of crimes get better treatment.
The kids' lawyers are discounted, but most of them do a pretty good job. That's the other part of the justice system. If you can't afford a lawyer you're starting in the hole.
The DA realizes the case has huge holes but presses forward. The lead investigator tries to bend the truth.
There's a great moment in the trial when the DNA analyst concludes none of the boys were at the crime scene. The audience cheers, but we know where this goes. How do five kids get convicted when there is nothing that links them to the crime other than confessions that are admittedly a mess?
This show is very good, but depressing. We skip ahead to the future and see that even after jail life doesn't return to normal. A felon can't just go out and get a job. Where do you turn from there? It's easy to consider doing something illegal when you have no other options and just want to live your life. Yeah, they were convicted, but they are innocent.
Episode four may be the roughest episode. Korey Wise went to adult prison. He's a kid in an adult prison and he's basically set up to die. Korey's story is heart wrenching. What happened to all of these kids is, but seeing what happens to Korey is especially tough.
The justice system has a responsibility and it failed in this case. This isn't the only time, but what's crazy is that this went to trial and they were still convicted. These kids never had a fair chance.
While their charges were eventually vacated, there is no way to reverse what happened. Years of their lives were stolen.
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