Central Park Five Essay

Filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon made a film called The Central Park Five which was based on a 1989 case. It is about a group of 5 boys who were wrongly convicted of raping a woman who was jogging around Central Park. The five boys did not know each other and were questioned without an attorney. The police were interrogating them until they got a confession out of them. Once they got a confession, they were in prison for 6-13 years. The society was against them and their families knew that their children did not commit the crime. These five boys were devoted to their school activities and education. They were all great kids. Unfortunately, their youth hood was gone and taken away from them. Years later, a man was willing …show more content…
Raymond Santana got out of jail for the crime he did not commit. He said that he is a “bigger man, living with parents.” He did not go to college and so it was hard for him to get a job. Kevin Richardson had a hard life too. He said that he is an “honest man” so he wouldn’t lie about anything. When he applied for a job at the post office, he couldn’t get it because they ask him if he convicted a felony and he said “Yes.” I felt really bad for them because you would think that they can start a new life but they are back to square one. They are just not any criminal who people don’t know about. These are five men that were on the television and the newspapers. It will be hard for them to even walk out and go to a movie or a grocery store without people watching them and whispering.
To conclude, this film gave me an understanding of how people can treat each other. This is something that we need to fix. We should all have respect for one another no matter what race we are. I’m not saying to love each other but to have respect for one another. I recommend this film to people who judge people quickly. It will help them see the cause and effect that it can have on that person. We just have to be careful of what we say and what we