When They See Us
For many people, the Netflix series “When They See Us” is the primary source of information about the Central Park Jogger case. The series aims at delivering an emotionally-charged story that pulls at the heartstrings. Often you may hear people who have recently seen the series state that they cried after watching. It certainly instills, in its audiences, a sense that a tremendous wrong was dealt to these 5 frolicsome teens. The film has helped to bring large swaths of people to believe that the 5 were innocent of the crimes committed in New York City’s Central Park on April 19th of 1989.
This section of the site aims at rejecting the narratives propelled in the faces of Netflix audiences and instead brings the RAW facts of the case in a no-nonsense style. Prepare to remove the blinders and be educated as to what really happened that day back in April of 1989.
Ava Duvernay
Suppose you listen to Ava Duvernay long enough, when she talks about her Netflix series When They See Us. In that case, you will certainly hear a joyful sound of glee in her voice as she happily parades the fact that she has gotten accolades and financial gain from creating a “biased” and “slanted” film that is only very loosely based on the actual central park jogger case.
Duvernay’s desire to change the minds of the masses regarding young black males may sound like a rather righteous cause. However, if it means making heroes out of criminals, she is undoubtedly on an immoral path.
‘Wilding’ on April 19th, 1989
When school is out tomorrow and the weather is nice outdoors, what are a group of 30 or more teenage boys supposed to do with themselves at 9pm at night? On this one particular Wednesday in 1989, we find out just what such a large group of guys decides to do in the infamous Central Park Jogger Case. It certainly wasn’t just a day in the park for the victims of the so-called “wilding” spree that ensued.
Find out exactly what the term ‘wilding’ means and where it came from. Also, find out why the false claim that the word originated from the media and the police is nonsensical. This is the story behind the founding of this website; the lie that built a counter-movement.
Their Victims
When most people think about the Central Park Jogger case, they immediately think about the rape victim, Patricia Meili. However, what many people don’t think about or even know is that there were at least six other victims who were either beaten, robbed, grabbed, harassed or all of the above. One of the victims, in particular, was said to have been found looking as if his head had been dunked in a bucket of blood. Others were beaten unconscious and robbed of walkmans, food, and beer.
Apprehended
The apprehension of the first five teens that were brought in weren’t the five who ended up being called “The Central Park 5.” Only two of the initial teen boys ended up being charged with rape: Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson. So, the question becomes, how were the other three boys ever charged? The answer is simple. All of these kids snitched on one another. They even went as far as giving out the addresses of their friends who were with them that night. Ultimately the police brought in 37 teens. This was all due to the fact that they all told on one another.
Stool pigeons, rats, canaries, stoolies, squealers, tattletales, finks, informants, traitors, snitches…. Do these synonyms fit? Maybe… Read, watch and decide for yourself.
In the Precinct
As it relates to the Central Park Jogger case, much has been made of the time that these teenage boys spent in the police precinct that night. The fact that they were there so long is often brought up to paint a picture of them as having been treated unfairly. What isn’t mentioned is the reason why they were made to stay so long. It also is rarely mentioned that several of the boys were sent home rather quickly.
Again, there were 37 teens brought in. Not all were brought in on the same day. It took time to round some of them up. This idea that they all sat in the precinct for the same amount of time just isn’t supported by any facts.
It also should be noted that New York City has some laws regarding how minors can be questioned. By law, they actually need their parents there to be questioned. What also is almost never mentioned is that some of their parents didn’t seem to care much that their kids were locked up. They took their time in getting there which ultimately held up the process for everyone involved because none could be released until all of them had given statements. The reason for that is because the police didn’t know what each boy would say about the others. So, they had to wait for their parents and for them all to give statements.
Another law that held up the process is the fact that juveniles can only be questioned in one specific room that has been pre-approved for the purpose of juvenile interrogations, one at a time. So if 37 teens need to be questioned at roughly 45 minutes each, how many hours would it take before they were all done? 37×45= 1665/60= 27.75…. If my math is correct that is more than 24 hours worth of interrogations, not including any breaks for sleep, shift changes, food, conversations, etc.
The Rape of Patricia Meili
The only evidence that there was a racial component to this case is the fact that Patricia Meili was a blonde-haired blue-eyed woman who just happened to choose the wrong night to go out jogging in the park. Because the defendants were all kids “of color,” there was and is a knee-jerk (heavy emphasis on the word ‘jerk’) reaction that people have that brings them to the conclusion that the police and criminal justice system had racist inclinations.
Reasons that police apprehend rapists have little or nothing to do with race. That is especially true when the accused also beat the victim within inches of her life. No. The rape of Patricia Meili was cold-blooded and would have police out looking for attackers no matter what their race was.
Everybody’s Snitching
If you watched my YouTube report on the Central Park 5 cases you would have ultimately heard me saying that they are ‘the most celebrated snitches in Black history.’ Why would I say such a thing? Not because I am anti-snitch. Not because I believe in cliches such as the ever-famous, “snitches get stitches.” No. My reason is to point out the high level of hypocrisy in some segments of the Black community.
We all know that in some segments of the community there are those who are not fond of Black people telling on other Black people. It’s something some of us are taught from a young age. As we grow into our teens and into early adulthood, snitching carries with it a heavy burden that could result in violence or even loss of life. This is especially true for those who are involved in criminality.
The Central Park 5 were involved in that world and told on one another to save themselves. Not only did they give names (32 more teens were brought in for questioning after the first 5 were arrested based on word of mouth accounts) but they also gave addresses as you can see them doing in the infamous videos.
It’s hard to believe that no one has discussed the fact that these guys talked to police and snitched on friends to save themselves. The only reason it doesn’t happen is that people like the idea of having 5 guys who represent “the Black Struggle” whatever that means….
How to Avoid a Rape Charge By Keeping His Mouth Shut
How is it that the guy who was the most mentioned person involved in the rape of Patricia Meili also is the only one who didn’t get charged with rape? Instead, he was able to take a plea deal and cop down to a robbery charge where he would then be made to serve between 1 ½ and 4 ½ years. The simple answer is when it came to the rape, Steve Lopez kept his mouth shut.
Where is The Coercion?
In the case of the Central Park Five, the claim that coercion happened keeps coming up. What many don’t recognize is that the coercion argument was used during their trials.
The prosecution put an end to the coercion argument pretty quickly and there was a time during the trial where Antron McCray’s father was being questioned by Elizabeth Lederer about the defense’s claims that Antron was coerced. His father, being asked some tough questions, was forced to come clean and state that the police did not tell Antron what to say at all.
Perhaps this is the real reason why McCray has such disdain for his father.
Witness Accounts
There were quite a few witnesses called to give statements or to testify in the Central Park 5 cases. Among them were 37 teens who often would tell on one another, 7 victims, friends of Wise who heard him discuss the rape prior to being apprehended, several medical professionals, paramedics and others. Many of the witness accounts were quite damning, to say the least. Especially the accounts told by the friends of Korey Wise.The Central Park Jogger case had quite a bit of teens telling on teens
All This Evidence
Piles of evidence! If you only know the Central Park 5 cases from the ‘When They See Us’ Netflix series then you will probably be shocked to learn that there was a lot of evidence against the Central Park 5.
There were blood and semen stains found on three of the five teens. There were hairs that were found to be consistent with the hair on Patricia Meili’s head and pubic area found on two of the boys. One had little blonde hairs in his underwear.
There were multiple witnesses who corroborated their so-called “coerced” stories. On top of that, there were witnesses who heard Korey Wise and Kevin Richardson discussing raping the woman. There was enough evidence to convince all of the black jurors, all of the white jurors, and all of the other jurors as well.
Matias Reyes
Matias Reyes is certainly an interesting and evil character in the Central Park Jogger case. The idea that this guy’s story is to be taken seriously is odd, to say the least. Most people believe it because they want to. But have you actually listened to what the man has said in his interviews about the rape of Patricia Meili? He claims that he followed her during her jog and zig-zagged back and forth to hide from her across the span of a two-lane road that she was running on. Footage of the reenactment of this shows how nearly impossible it would have been for him to be able to conceal himself and keep up with her. She was a daily jogger and marathon runner, after all.
Then, there were numerous details that he seems to not recall. Her style of hair is one that really sticks out to me. He claims to have been running behind her for so long. How could he not know her hair color and length? Now he wouldn’t know if he didn’t see her until after she was laying in the dirt and on her back. But he claims he attacked her alone. There are multiple other issues with this story, as well.
Reyes’ Motivation to Come Forward
What was Matias Reyes’ motivation to come forward and tell the world that he had raped Patricia Meili? He claims that it was a SECOND chance meeting with Korey Wise, who he felt bad for since Wise was still incarcerated. The problem with that is that the Auburn correctional facility has checked records and stated that there was no time that these two inmates could have seen each other to have a conversation as it’s portrayed in the Netflix ‘When They See Us’ series. Their first meeting in jail was a coincidence. A second meeting years later is suspicious and highly unlikely.
Another question is this… Why would he feel bad for Korey Wise and not his victim Patricia Meili? He never reached out to her. He never apologized to her for having raped her. Why is Wise more important than the victim? Perhaps because Wise knew Reyes was there that night which is why when they first met they got into a fistfight. This also explains why Korey Wise mentions a guy named ‘Rudy’ taking Meili’s walkman and fanny pack. Reyes was known to some people as Rudy.
Motion to Vacate not Exonerate
So Oprah Winfrey looked at the Netflix series and did very little research into the actual Central Park Jogger case itself. She decided to name these guys the Exonerated Five and wipe away the name the Central Park Five. Many people love the name The Exonerated Five. The issue I have with that is that these guys were NEVER exonerated. Their cases were vacated. There is a huge difference.
An ‘exonerated’ case is a case that finds those who were once thought guilty to be innocent. However, in the cases of the Five, they weren’t found innocent. What a vacated case is is when the convictions are erased due to newfound evidence. That evidence is usually enough to have changed a jury’s mind about a few things. This often leads prosecutors to retry the case with the new evidence. It doesn’t mean that those charged will not do time. It simply means that jurors would be shown the new evidence alongside all the older evidence and would make a determination based on it all, together.
Because this new evidence was brought forward after most of them had been released from prison on the most extreme of their multiple charges, they couldn’t be taken back to court. They had already served time for the worst of their crimes which means they did all the time they were ever going to do regardless of what the jury decided. But, they weren’t only accused of rape. Remember there were at least 6 other victims that night. Several of them were beaten badly. Moreover, there was plenty of evidence to tie them to those beatings as well.
They were not innocent.
Politics Behind the Case
There is always a healthy amount of politics being played in the background of high profile cases. The Central Park 5 case is no different in that regard. In fact, when they were trying to get a payout from the city of New York in their civil suit, they were denied by the Bloomberg administration because they knew that the case was nonsensical. They knew what the case being vacated meant. Bloomberg, rightfully, vowed to never pay them. But, seeing a shift in public opinion towards cases like this, Mayoral candidate Bill De Blasio saw an opportunity to gain more black votes.
While on the campaign trail, De Blasio made good with Al Sharpton and vowed that, if elected, he would finally give the Central Park Five the “justice” they deserved in the form of a settlement.
Now, when the Central Park Jogger Case turned into what it has, how much of that money do you expect Sharpton got on the backend?