描述
开 本: 16开纸 张: 胶版纸包 装: 精装是否套装: 否国际标准书号ISBN: 9780307266149
“This is a controversial and important book, presenting a
powerful argument that the minority youths who are convicted of
raping and nearly murdering “the Central Park Jogger” were innocent
of that crime (though not necessarily of other violent crimes
committed in Central Park that night). It demonstrates that
our justice system is far from full proof even in the face of
alleged confession, eyewitness and forensic evidence. Were these
false convictions based on understandable mistakes? Or were they
based on racial stereotyping? Read this fine book and make up your
own mind.” –Alan M. Dershowitz, author of The Trials of
Zion
“An important cultural document, and unquestionably worth
reading…Burns’s gripping tale may serve as an allegory for some of
the most pressing criminal justice issues of our time.” –The New
York Times Book Review
“Gripping from start to finish, The Central Park Five is an
unvarnished look at one of the most infamous crimes in New York
City history. You may think you know the true story of the Central
Park jogger, but you don’t. Sarah Burns tells a harrowing story, in
which her only allegiance is to the truth.” –Kevin Baker, author of
Dreamland
“Remarkable…Straightforward, thought-provoking reportage.”
–Booklist
“Measured, riveting…The Central Park Five is an important book.”
–The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A riveting retrospective.” –News Blaze
notorious crimes.
On April 20, 1989, the body of a woman is discovered in Central
Park, her skull so badly smashed that nearly 80 percent of her
blood has spilled onto the ground. Within days, five black and
Latino teenagers confess to her rape and beating. In a city where
urban crime is at a high and violence is frequent, the ensuing
media frenzy and hysterical public reaction is extraordinary. The
young men are tried as adults and convicted of rape, despite the
fact that the teens quickly recant their inconsistent and
inaccurate confessions and that no DNA tests or eyewitness accounts
tie any of them to the victim. They serve their complete sentences
before another man, serial rapist Matias Reyes, confesses to the
crime and is connected to it by DNA testing.
Intertwining the stories of these five young men, the police
officers, the district attorneys, the victim, and Matias Reyes,
Sarah Burns unravels the forces that made both the crime and its
prosecution possible. Most dramatically, she gives us a portrait of
a city already beset by violence and deepening rifts between races
and classes, whose law enforcement, government, social
institutions, and media were undermining the very rights of the
individuals they were designed to safeguard and protect.
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