This is one of his best mini series Netflix and within a few days of being available on the platform (as of May 31) it has managed to be discussed by subscribers. And everyone agrees that it is one of the best productions, with multiple messages. But, above all, "When they see us" is a punch in the stomach against racism.
The new 4-episode mini-series, directed by Ava DuVernay, is a television masterpiece and unfolds the plot of a lawsuit that opened in the spring of '89 and closed in 2002, starring 5 teenagers, four African-Americans and a Latin American boy, who were indicted. for raping a white woman in Central Park. Those who have seen it know what it is about, those who have not seen it again, below is a spoiler. What is certain is that "When they see us" causes rage in the viewer from the very first episode about how an entire system worked.
The five boys from Haarlem, who did not even know each other, were unjustly charged, forced by the American police authorities to confess to a crime they had not committed and convicted. Their story, known as the "Central Park Five," haunted public opinion and exposed the American police and judicial authorities, the government itself, and the press, which was involved in a crime committed without shame. The director Ava DuVernay in an exemplary way, who speaks directly to the emotion of the audience, but also to the logic that in this case was dominated by racial hatred, exposes the whole system.
The Central Park case
The calendar showed April 19, 1989, when a group of about 30 African-American teenagers were walking in Central Park, harassing cyclists and passers-by in the park, and throwing stones at passing cars. Police intervene and arrest two children, Raymond Santana (15) and Kevin Richardson (14), for "illegal assembly", who is beaten by a police officer in the face with his helmet.
At about the same time in another part of the park, 28-year-old Trisa Miley is jogging. A little later and specifically at 1.30 after midnight, a passer-by finds her in a semi-conscious state, severely hit in the head and sexually abused. In fact, she was so badly beaten that her boyfriend managed to recognize her from her ring. Miley was in a coma for the next 12 days.
The two teenagers, who were initially arrested as troublemakers, then become possible witnesses to the heinous crime, while the police - although the hours do not coincide, since the children were arrested much earlier - try to connect them with the heinous rape. The next day that dawns will never be the same for Kevin and Raymond, but also for three other teenagers who were also in Central Park.
The press has made headlines about Miley's heinous rape, and although 28 rapes or attempted rapes were reported at the time, mainly against African-American or Latin American women, the story of 28-year-old white Trissa has attracted the attention of newspapers. And they insist on finding the culprit.
The convictions
The case is being handled by prosecutor Linda Ferstein, played by Felicity Hoffman. So it is not too late to make her own narrative, which she is willing to prove to be correct at all costs and by violating every notion of law and humanity. "It all happened in Central Park. And they are not connected to each other "? On this arbitrary position, one of the most embarrassing court cases in America begins.
"They are not witnesses, they are suspects" is her command to the police and somewhere there begins the drama of the 5 teenagers, which lasted many years and "stole" the best years of their lives. Kevin Richardson, Ray Santana, Corey Wise, Anton McKay and Joseph Salam, aged between 14 and 16, all from the Harlem slum, have been arrested on suspicion of rape.
The interrogation lasts about 30 hours, where every notion of logic is violated. It also means humanity, since none of the police officers seem to realize that they had 5 frightened children in front of them. The interrogation takes place without the presence of lawyers, as they had been forced to relinquish all their rights. In fact, most of the children were interrogated without the presence of their parents, even though they were minors and the police, together with the Prosecutor, knew that they were violating the simplest constitutional right.
Inside the interrogation room there is a scene, which when you watch it now from the series, you feel a knot in the stomach, which immediately becomes anger. Police use psychological violence against children. When they threaten them, when they deceive them to lie to each other, even though they did not know each other, and in the end they tell them that they will let them return home soon.
But this "soon" does not come…. The 5 children are forced to admit a crime they did not commit. Linda Ferstein's narrative finds application and a case is just set up on lies, with no incriminating evidence against them, no witnesses. Their alleged confessions are coming from everywhere, logically they would not stand anywhere, but this for the Prosecutor was probably small letters, sending them to trial with the accusation that they participated in the rape of Trissa Miley.
The embarrassing trial
The trial begins in August 1990. This time they have lawyers and his families by their side, but not the police authorities and the press, who were sure of their guilt. In fact, then the tycoon Donald Trump spends nearly $ 90 on full-page advertising in several New York newspapers, urging a reinstatement of the death penalty.
The children in court state that they had no involvement in what they are accused of and emphasize that they were forced to confess. As we said, there was no incriminating evidence, but that did not stop the judges from making a decision based on their "confessions" to the police. After all, when Trisa recovered from the coma, she had memory loss and could not identify the perpetrator of the attack.
Thus, Raymond, Yusuf and Andron are acquitted of the charge of attempted murder, but are convicted of rape, robbery, assault and riot. Later that year, a second trial was held, in which Kevin was convicted of attempted murder, rape, assault and robbery, while Corey was convicted of sexual assault, assault and rioting. The 5 were sentenced to sentences ranging from 5 to 14 years in prison. Cory Weiss was the only child to be convicted as an adult and spent almost 12 years on Rikers island.
The time of justification
They say that sooner or later the truth will shine. Only in the case of the five children, the time of justification was delayed by 13 years, depriving them of their youth. In 2002, a Latin American prisoner of war (convicted of other rapes), Matthias Reyes confessed to being the one who hit and raped Trisa Miley in April '89.
He describes in every creepy detail those dramatic hours for the 28-year-old girl and how he managed to leave Central Park undisturbed and full of blood, under the nose of the police. A DNA test is performed and the results confirm his claims.
The "Five of Central Park" are acquitted. The prosecutor never admits the "crime" she committed against these children and to this day insists on her story. A few years later, all five filed a lawsuit against the state of New York, which they won by receiving $ 41 million in compensation. However, their reintegration was not an easy task. The lost years were difficult to make up for, but they tried…
Where are the protagonists of the story today
Andron McRae was 15 years old in 1989. He finished school during his imprisonment. He was released in September 1996 and moved to Maryland three years later, where he found work as a transport warehouse manager. Today he is 45 years old, married and the father of six children. He lives with his family in Georgia, and as he recently stated on the occasion of the Netflix series, he has not yet managed to overcome this story.
Kevin Richardson was the youngest in the group, just 14 years old. He went to high-security juvenile prisons and was released in 1997. Although his family supported him, he found it very difficult to adjust after his release. Today he is married and has two children. Every Friday he and his sisters visit their paternal home in Haarlem.
While in prison, Yusuf Salem became more devoted to his Islamic faith and completed his studies there. He was released in 1997 and married shortly afterwards. From his first marriage he had three children, while he remarried and had 7 more children. Today, he is a public speaker, advocate for criminal justice reform, and writes poetry. He has also been awarded by Barack Obama.
Raymond Santana, the Latin American of the group, was released in 1995. In 1993, he was allowed to go to his paternal home to say goodbye to his mother, shortly before he died of cancer. Raymond had other legal adventures after his release from prison. After 18 months he was convicted of a traffic violation and later arrested for possession of cocaine. Today, he lives in Georgia where he has his own clothing company.
Corey Wise was the oldest of the group (16) and served his entire sentence in the most violent adult prisons, living the worst experiences. He also spent more years in prison than the others. During his imprisonment he did some studies, but did not have the necessary care and treatment for his hearing problem, as well as for the learning difficulties he faced. After his release he worked as an office cleaner. Today, he lives in New York and is active in criminal justice issues, and has done many charities.
For 14 whole years after her heinous rape, Trisha Miley did not want to talk about it. A year after the five children were acquitted, she wrote the book "I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility" under her own name. She does not have many memories of that horrible night, but to this day she is convinced that there were more than one person in the attack against her. Due to the violent blows he received on the face, even today he can not make some expressions, while he has problems with balance and movement. She has not met the five children, while she is involved in organizations that support rape victims.
Prosecutor Linda Ferstein is a writer of detective novels. Following the release of the Netflix series and the outrage that erupted against it, mainly on social media, the publishing house stopped their collaboration. To this day, she insists on her narrative.