The Central Park Five

The Central Park Five refers to a group of five Black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a white jogger in New York City's Central Park in 1989. Despite limited evidence and coerced confessions, they were found guilty and served years in prison before their convictions were overturned in 2002 when another man confessed to the crime, backed by DNA evidence. Their case highlights issues of racial bias, wrongful convictions, and the failures of the criminal justice system, making it a significant part of discussions about race, justice, and media representation in the U.S.