AFI Fest 2012: Ken Burns Conversation With WAMG On THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

On Saturday night, WAMG attended the screening of Ken Burns’ THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE. This has to be one of the most riveting and devastatingly shocking documentaries to come along in a while.

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE tells the story of five black teenagers who were arrested in 1989 for the brutal beating and rape of a woman jogger in New York’s Central Park. What followed was one of the worst miscarriages of justice anyone could ever imagine. Starting with the New York City cops who interrogated the boys (who were minors, mind you) without parents or lawyers present, to the media, who created a mob-mentality screaming with bloodlust, with their tabloid headlines and made up term “wilding wolf pack” to whip the public into a frenzy of demands for the death penalty.

And all the while these poor kids (Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise) had nothing to do with the horrific crime, other than the fact that they were in the park on that same night. There was absolutely no evidence connecting them to the case, including DNA found on the victim that did not match any of them. Still the city proceeded with the prosecution and wrongful imprisonment of these five teenagers.

The film is stunning and sad, with amazing footage of the original video-taped “confessions” made back in 1989 by the police. In those clips of the boys at that age, it is gut-wrenchingly clear that they had no idea what was happening to them and confessed only as a means of survival after nearly 30 hours of interrogation with no sleep or food or contact with family.

Even more devastating is the fact that this did, and could still, happen in our country’s justice system. All five of the accused were convicted and served 6-10 year prison sentences for a crime they didn’t commit. How these kids managed to survive this is a testament to the human spirit. They never gave up thinking the truth would eventually come out.

Defendant Yusef Salaam walks into courthouse flanked by police officers in Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon’s THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE. Photo courtesy of NY Daily News via Getty Images. A Sundance Selects release.

Along with filmmakers Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns, three of the “central park five” were in attendance at the screening and spoke about their experience after the screening. They have all mostly put their lives back together and have successful careers and families. Sadly, one of the five, Korey Wise, still appears to be a bit shell-shocked from the experience, having been clearly developmentally disabled at the time this all happened. He was 16 years old with the mental capacity of a 12-year old. But he lights up the room and feels so redeemed that people have taken up the cause and supported them, when back in 1989, there was no one.

The other interesting thing they discussed was a still pending, multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit case filed in 2003 by the five men for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and emotional distress:

 “In early September lawyers representing New York City subpoenaed the film’s unseen footage. Burns, who co-directed, wrote and produced the documentary with his daughter, Sarah Burns (author of the book “The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding”) and her husband, David McMahon told The Wall Street Journal that the subpoena is “outrageous.”“The interviews for this film were conducted in 2008 and 2009,” Burns said. “Why did [New York City lawyers] wait until our film was in the middle of [a festival] release to subpoena us? It just seems so consciously disruptive and needless.” City officials believe that the unseen footage of the subjects discussing what they deem, coerced confessions, might support their argument that law enforcement and prosecutors were relying on the best information available at the time and acting in good faith” – The Wall Street Journal

Kharey Wise as he looked in court when he was arraigned in the Central Park jogger rape case. (Photo by John Pedin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

I caught up with Ken Burns at the screening reception and had an interesting conversation with him. After seeing the film, one of the things I was curious about was the “central park jogger” herself and whether or not she was aware of the film. Burns told me that they had indeed reached out to Trisha Meili, who thankfully has no recollection of the attack, and is now a motivational speaker. She has declined to see the film, not surprisingly, since there is a very graphic re-telling of that night’s events from the man who eventually confessed to the crime. Burns said that the extent of their communication is via email and she has politely thanked him for including her and letting her know where and when the film will be screening, so she wouldn’t be blindsided if friends or others tell her about it.

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE is scheduled to continue playing festivals and select theaters through the end of the year, making it eligible for an Oscar nomination. It will then air on PBS in April. If you see no other documentary this year or next, I urge you to SEE THIS in theaters November 23rd and On-Demand December 7th.

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