The Central Park Five
Subtitle: the untold story behind one of New York city's most infamous crimes
By: Sarah Burns
Edition: 1st Vintage Books ed.
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780307387981
Subjects: Violent crimes; Judicial error; Rape victims; Administration of Criminal justice
Description: On April 20th, 1989, two passersby discovered the body of the""Central Park jogger" crumpled in a ravine.. She'd been raped and severely beaten. Within days five black and Latino teenagers were apprehended, all five confessing to the crime. The staggering torrent of media coverage that ensued, coupled with fierce public outcry, exposed the deep-seated race and class divisions in New York City at the time. The minors were tried and convicted as adults despite no evidence linking them to the victim.  They served their complete sentences before another man confessed. Over a decade later, when DNA tests connected serial rapist Matias Reyes to the crime, the government, law enforcement, social institutions and media of New York were exposed as having undermined the individuals they were designed to protect. Here, the author recounts this historic case for the first time since the young men's convictions were overturned, telling, at last, the full story of one of New York's most legendary crimes.  Intertwining the stories of these five young men, the police officers, the district attorneys, the victim, and Reyes, she unravels the forces that made both the crime and its prosecution possible.
Notes: Originally published in hardcover with the subtitle "The Chronicle of a Wilding" by Knopf, c2011.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-228) and index.