The Central Park Five: When Media Frenzy and Police Pressure Crushed Justice

In 1989, five teenage boys were coerced into false confessions for a brutal assault in Central Park, leading to years of wrongful imprisonment. We examine how police interrogation tactics, media sensationalism, and racial bias created a perfect storm that railroaded these innocent youth. Through extensive analysis of the interrogation tapes, trial transcripts, and interviews with the exonerated men, we uncover how detectives exploited juvenile vulnerabilities to extract false confessions, while prosecutors ignored evidence pointing to the real perpetrator. The episode culminates with the 2002 confession of serial rapist Matias Reyes and the DNA evidence that finally freed the Five, exploring how this case transformed understanding of false confessions and juvenile justice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.