If you have already watched When They See Us, you must know that it is based on a true story. Before getting into what things were in real, let’s have a brief discussion about this crime series.
When They See Us made its debut in 2019 on Netflix. It was released in four different parts. Directed and created by Ava DuVernay, it is based on New York’s Central Park jogger case that took place back in 1989. Five young men (black and Latino) were falsely charged with sexually assaulting the jogger, more specifically, a white woman. Little did you know, they were known as the “Exonerated Five.” The story explores each of their personal lives. The case battled legally until 2014, when it finally settled.
Because of the suspenseful events and real-life tragic stories, When They See Us has earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award. As far as the winnings are concerned, the series made it to the Peabody Award. Some of the thrilling scenes must have given you goosebumps. Isn’t it?
Raymond Santana was one of those Exonerated Five with whom Ava contacted for the first time. Eventually, after meeting the other four men, he decided to make a film on their story.
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Real Story Behind When They See Us
Apart from Raymond Santana, who else made the other four charged people for the Central Park jogger case? They were named- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise. All of them were from Harlem and were teens at that time. On the other hand, the victim was Trisha Meili. Talking about her, she used to work as a professional investment banker and was then reported to be 28 years old. The incident took place on 19 April. She was not only raped but also beaten badly to the end.
Right after the nasty attack, Trisha fell into a coma, losing her memory about what happened to her. But the worst part was those five people weren’t responsible or involved with the assault case in any way. They were threatened by the police to make false confessions.
But here lies a big question. Why did the Exonerated Five make a false confession, especially when they didn’t commit the crime? Well, this is pretty much normal in the United States, especially when it comes to teenagers.
Five of them were asked questions for several hours. In addition to this, they were not offered food and didn’t get the chance to meet their parents. They claimed to be present around when the incident happened but were not involved in the assault case.
Things went worse for them when each of their statements varied. Well, that was obvious as they weren’t involved and had to make stories admitting to what the prosecutors wanted. Those questions involved the person initiating the attack, raping her, stocking her, weapons used, etc.
As it was very obvious, none of their DNA samples matched whatever was found in Trisha’s body. But, they continued it reportedly with a couple of trials. Surprisingly, things changed when a hair strand matched false with Richardson’s hair. All four of them, except Korey, were convicted and sentenced to jail for 5-10 years. On the other hand, Korey was made the same for 15 years of imprisonment.
If this was the entire case, who sexually assaulted Trisha? This must be the question arising in your mind now. In 2002, the real thing came out. It was a man named Matias Reyes who confessed to being the only one responsible for the Central Park jogger case. What about the hair strand? Yes, it matched Matias. It was then that things came out to the public, and they realized those five men were innocent.
In 2014, they were paid $41 million by New York City for settling the federal civil rights lawsuit they filed. Additionally, they were paid $3.9 million for being incarcerated. At the same time, Matias is imprisoned for life.
If you have missed out on it and are looking for some interesting, suspenseful, and real crime series, When They See Us is exactly the right choice.
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