The story
In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to their convictions being overturned. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, this is the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamoring for sensational stories and an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice.
Watch trailerCast & crew
Antron McCraySelf (voice)
Kevin RichardsonSelf
Yusef SalaamSelf
Raymond SantanaSelf
Kharey WiseSelf
Matias ReyesSelf (archive footage)
Jim DwyerSelf - New York Times
Angela BlackSelf - Kevin's Sister
Ed KochSelfCraig Steven Wilder
Craig Steven WilderSelf - HistorianLynNell Hancock
LynNell HancockSelf - JournalistCalvin O. Butts III
Calvin O. Butts IIISelf - ReverendExplore the crew
- Director
- Sarah Burns
- Director
- Ken Burns
- Director
- David McMahon
- Writer
- David McMahon
- Original Music Composer
- Doug Wamble
- Writer
- Sarah Burns
- Writer
- Ken Burns
- Producer
- Sarah Burns
- Producer
- Ken Burns
- Producer
- David McMahon