The Central Park Five

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 six and thirteen years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to the convictions being overturned. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, The Central Park Five tells the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamouring for sensational stories, an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice. Written, produced and directed by Ken Burns, Dave McMahon and Sarah Burns. Part 1 of 2.