Volume I No. 42
 12-09-02
 Too Late Comes Justice
 For The Central Park Rapists
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2002

 They did their time. 

 And now, long after the last of the convicted felons has already 
 walked out of prison anyway.  Manhattan District Attorney Robert 
 Morganthau, citing new evidence has formally recommended that
 the convictions of the formerly five teenagers - known collectively 
 as -- The Central Park Rapists -- be overturned.

 It will not be known until February 6th 2003, or soon thereafter if 
 Morganthau's recommendation will be accepted by Judge Charles 
 Tejeda who has jurisdiction over the case. But it is expected that
 Tejeda will follow the recommendation of the District Attorney.

 So, is this justice or not?

 Journey back to April 1989 when a young white female jogger was 
 brutally raped in Central Park and left for dead. The city was quickly 
 awash in hysteria, especially when five young men of color became 
 the prime target of the police investigation of the crime.

 In 1989 rap was still a relatively new music form, { and a frightening
 one for some people }and the term "wilding" was quickly appropriated 
 by the mainstream press to describe what had allegedly happened that 
 night in Central Park. Talking heads were all over the television screen
 complaining about the breakdown of urban society. And the lack of 
 morality and respect for authority. The racially-tinged psychobabble
 on display was hardly subtle.

 But back to the actual crime, forgetting the hysteria for a moment.
 The police obtained confessions. On film. The young teenage suspects
 described - in detail - how they had visciously assaulted the woman. 

 Raped her. 

 It was an open and shut case. 

 Slam dunk.

 The city applauded.

 Great police work.

 But was it?

 Apparently it was not.

 It seems that a Matias Reyes left his DNA at the crime scene. And
 Matias didn't become a suspect in the crime until many years later.
 Meanwhile, none of the young teenagers who had been convicted 
 of the rape left any DNA at the crime scene. No blood. No Fluids. 

 Or anything.

 And Matias alledges that he alone commited that horrible act 
 against the young victim. At this very moment Matias is serving 
 time for another brutal rape - that lead to the death of the victim. 
 He acted alone in committing that crime, lending further credence 
 to his come-late confession.

 But, were the five young men Reyes' accomplices, as some police 
 officials still doggedly believe? { there is an alternate theory of the 
 crime that Reyes and the four accused committed the rape together } 
 Or is it simply an inevitable fact that it is impossible for police or law 
 enforcement - anywhere - to ever admit their own error or incompetence?

 This entire mess centers upon the confessions the young juveniles
 gave to police back in 1989. Some of the youths were interrogated
 for up to 20 hours before the video cameras were even turned on.
 And in the opinion of many - admittedly in hindsight - the confessions
 seemed rehearsed and inaccurate as to certain details of the crime.

 What happened in those 20 hours before the police cameras were 
 turned on? Certainly there is no way to ever find those answers out. 
 But in this instance, police reluctance to have what they were doing 
 in those interrogations rooms recorded on video has certainly backfired. 
 The suspicion will always remain in certain communities that the 
 confessions were bogus. In other words, that all of the so-called 
 details of the rape were given to the suspects by the police. Something 
 not unheard of in history.

 While in other communites just the opposite view will be held. That
 the confessions were legitimate. And without there ever being a way 
 of accertaining exactly what actually happened during those first 
 20 hours, the questions that give people pause today will never be 
 answered. -- And so they will always remain just that. 

 Questions.

 If those five young men - still - had something to do with that crime,
 then whether or not they were rightfully convicted. They merit
 our contempt. But if they are completely innocent, then no amount 
 of money rewarded to them in court can restore the long painful years, 
 and the loss of dignity and respect that was a result of their wrongful 
 convictions.

 It is the arrogance of law enforcement, as well as the sense of entitlement
 that exists on the other side of the "thin blue line," that they can 
 and must do whatever is necessary to solve a high profile crime, 
 that permitted those cameras to remain dark back in 1989. And it is 
 the consequential lack of knowledge as to what did occur between 
 the police - and the teenagers, that will forever cloud public opinion 
 as to the actual innocence or guilt of those that stood accused.

 The police work for the state. And the people are the state. And 
 the people deserve an accurate accounting. The citizens of New York
 deserve better than what happened that night. Law enforcement 
 doesn't get carte blanche to skirt the law, or to do things underhandledly 
 or in a capricious manner, just so that a horrible crime can be solved.

 The cameras were available. They should have been used at an 
 earlier point in the interrogations. Especially given the youth of 
 the suspects at the time. --- No excuse. 

 As they stand, those videotaped confessions were garbage. And 
 that explains this whole untidy situation, some thirteen years later.

 Garbage in. Garbage out.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2002

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