Review of The Central Park Five (2012) by Mike C — 07 Feb 2014

Ken Burns does it again. He'll never amaze you with flash, but his documentaries are always worth a watch. This one is yet another case of bad police work and bad prosecution...so much so that the officials become the criminals.

I was just seven when the original crime happened. Years later, I ran across the victim's book. I tried to read it but it's a brutal crime and I lost interest. I think I still thought it was a group of black kids who did it. Now I know why.

Maybe these were no angels, maybe they were just rowdy kids in a very different New York City than the one we know today. But for police and prosecutors to do what they did...unacceptable. They not only cheated these five kids and their families, but also cheated the victim and all the subsequent victims of the real rapist. Fucking pathetic.

But to top it off, just like in other cases of wrongful conviction, there is no recourse. In this case, it seems particularly bad given the city will not settle with the five original defendants. And look at Fairstein's career. She has done more good than harm, but seriously, when you make a mistake, no matter the level, you better goddamn own up to it and try to fix it. What officials did in this case is just disgusting.