On April 19, 1989 four African American teens and one Hispanic teen are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when they are arrested and questioned about the brutal rape and beating of a white woman in Central Park in New York City. All of the boys were under the age of eighteen and they all, after hours of interrogation, admitted their guilt in the crime. Within a few days the boys recanted their stories but the ball of justice was already rolling. All of the boys were found guilty and served their full sentences. Finally in 2002 after all of the boys had served their time a man in prison admitted that he was the sole assailant for the crime that these boys had done time for. In A Walk In The Park we get a glimpse inside of the boys experience as innocent children being accused, prosecuted, found guilty and imprisoned for a crime they did not commit. Can they ever trust the justice system ever again? How easy will it be for them to move past the lives that were forced on the by a system that let them down? The Central Park Five shows us that the innocent can still be found guilty. (Fiction Fan Fair)
Duo/ Duet- A Walk In The Park
- Reporter: This is Lester Long reporting to you live from the entrance of Central Park where a brutal rape has been reported. Detective, excuse me detective can you tell me what happened in the park today? Detective: We received a report from a jogger of a woman that they had found beaten on a trail within the park. Upon further investigation we found the victim unconscious, nearly naked and raped. Reporter: Do you know the victims name? Are there any suspects in custody? Detective: We are working diligently on a group of teenagers possibly a gang that has been creating fear in the residents of this city. We will find them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Reporter: You heard it hear first. Our prayers go out to the victim and her family. (In an interrogation room) Narrator: Hour one. B1: I didn’t do nothing. I don’t know nothing about no white lady in the park. B2: Yo dude, you got the wrong kid. I ain’t do nothing and my friends ain’t do nothing. B1/ B2: Why ya’ll always thinking we doing something wrong. B1: We walk through the park every night. Bad shit happens in the park at night don’t mean we did it. Narrator: Hour seven. B1: Why you yelling at me? I didn’t do nothing wrong. Where is my momma? I want my momma. B2: Yeah we were in the park. We might have seen her. I was behind the others. I heard them laughing about something. Narrator: Hour thirteen. B1: I’m so thirsty and hungry. Can I have a soda? Some water? Something? What do I have to say to go eat? B2: What did my friends say? Did they say that we did it? What do I have to say to go home?