Central Park Five Case’s Tragic Injustice Laid Bare in ‘When They See Us’ (Opinion)
Hold Donald trump accountable for his words then, his advocacy for the death penalty way out ahead of due process, and of course his ongoing silence in this tragic matter.
The reinvestigation of the case was triggered when 13 years after the original crime, an already imprisoned rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes, confessed to the rape of the Central Park Jogger, a then 28-year-old investment banker named Trisha Meili. Matias’ criminal history during the years before his rape of Meili included rape, murder and even attempts at blinding his victims to avoid detection. Reyes’ DNA was found on the body of the jogger and at the scene. Other incriminating evidence included presence of Reyes’ semen on the jogger’s clothing and his knowledge of details regarding the remote location of the rape in the North Woods of Central Park. The way the jogger was bound was consistent with a technique used by Reyes on other victims. These facts convinced my initially skeptical clients and Morgenthau that Reyes was the true rapist. No DNA or physical evidence ever linked the Central Park Five to the jogger or the crime scene. The confessions of the Central Park Five were wildly contradictory and at odds with what was thought to be the known timeline of events relating to the rape that night.
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