Draft:Central Park Five

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The Central Park jogger case was a criminal case based on the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a 28-year-old, white woman who was jogging in the park, and attacks on eight other persons in the North Woods of Manhattan's Central Park on the night of April 19, 1989. Meili, an investment banker, was so injured that she was in a coma for 12 days. At the time of the first trial in 1990, The New York Times described the attack on her as "one of the most widely publicized crimes of the 1980s".

Debate over participation in the rape

Although the convictions were vacated in 2012, there is still debate over whether the five participated in the rape of the jogger. The main arguments in support of the thesis that the five participated in the rape are contained in the Armstrong Report, a report written by a panel commissioned by the New York City Police Department. The main arguments against the theory that the five did not participate in the rape are contained in the Motion to Vacate by Nancy E. Ryan, Assistant District Attorney.

The Armstrong Report argues that "the inconsistencies contained in the various statements were not such as to destroy their reliability.", that the most likely scenario was one in which the defendants attacked the jogger, and Mr. Reyes, drawn by her screams, either joined in the attack as it was ending or waited until the defendants had moved on to their next victims before descending upon her himself, raping her and inflicting upon her the brutal injuries that almost caused her death. and concludes that "there was no misconduct on the part of the New York City Police Department in the arrests and interrogations of the defendants,.

Evidence in Support of a Single Attacker

Vegetation Evidence

As stated in the Ryan report: "Beginning at the edge of the roadway was a visible path of flattened vegetation, measuring from sixteen to eighteen inches wide, which extended to the treeline that began forty feet to the north." Reporter Jim Dwyer argues that "In that trail, there is neither room for, nor trace of, five people." The Ryan report concludes that it is "more consistent with a single attacker dragging an inert form than with a group."

DNA Evidence

As the Ryan report explains: "DNA evidence was extracted from semen deposited on the jogger's sock, found near her at the crime scene. It did not match any of the defendants, or any other known sample.* The same was true of DNA evidence extracted from a cervical swab; it did not match the defendants or any other known sample. Expert testimony at trial, however, established that the DNA from both the victim and the sock appeared to have come from the same source. Testimony also established that the DNA was not a mixture; it was from a single source, meaning that only one individual had ejaculated. A pubic hair found on the sock was also examined microscopically. It was likewise found to be inconsistent with the defendants and every other known source. The known samples included samples from all of the individuals whom the defendants had specifically named as rapists." Although it is technically possible that multiple people raped the victim without leaving detectable DNA (as the defendants claimed in their confessions) it is very unlikely.

Internal inconsistencies of the confessions

The Ryan report argues the confessions are likely false on the ground that: "the accounts given by the five defendants differed from one another on the specific details of virtually every major aspect of the crime -- who initiated the attack, who knocked the victim down, who undressed her, who struck her, who held her, who raped her, what weapons were used in the course of the assault, and when in the sequence of events the attack took place."

External inconsistencies of the confessions

In addition to being inconsistent with each other, the confessions are incompatible with the physical evidence. As the Ryan report points out, the defendants claimed to have hit the jogger with a pipe, "struck her in the face with a brick", and "cut her leg with a knife". None of these things happened. Kharey Wise claimed that the victims clothes "had been cut off" when in fact they had not been. Kevin Richardson claimed the victims bra "was ripped off" when in reality it was still on the victim when she was found. None of the defendants mentioned robbing the victim even though the removal of the insole from the victims shoe suggests she was searched for cash. Similarly, none of the defendants were able to accurately describe where the attack took place while being able to accurately describe the location of the other crimes they were accused of that night.

Timeline issues

"Shortly after their initial entry into the park, the larger group of which the defendants were a part temporarily split up. As a result, not all of the defendants participated both in the incidents that occurred along the East Drive and in the attacks at the reservoir; but at least some of them did. Given the times when each of those events were estimated to have occurred, it is difficult to construct a scenario that would have allowed the defendants the time to interrupt their progression south, detour to the 102nd Street transverse, and commit a gang rape."

Reyes Confession

In February 2002, Matias Reyes confessed to beating and raping the victim by himself. Reyes was able to accurately recall the direction the jogger was coming from and her clothing, his description of the initial strike to the back of the joggers head is consistent with the physical evidence, he correctly remembered that the victim was wearing a headset and Walkman, he correctly described the location of the attack and the terrain covered while dragging the jogger, Reyes confessed to stealing the joggers keys in order to burglarize her apartment which would explain why her keys were missing. Reyes described throwing the victims clothes which is consistent with how they were dispersed at the crime scene. Reyes stated he beat the victim with a rock on the head, this is consistent with the lacerations on her head and the skull fractures as well as the rock that was found with what is believed to be the victims blood and hair on it.

Physical Evidence Linking Reyes to the Attack

Reyes DNA was found on the sock found at the crime scene. A wound on the victims left cheek contained what looked like an imprint of a ring worn by Reyes.

Evidence supporting the claim that Reyes acted alone

Between June and August of 1989 Reyes stalked, raped, robbed five white women, murdering one of them and was jailed for those crimes. All those prior attacks were performed alone. Reyes also confessed to sex crimes he committed which he was not arrested. In particular he attacked, beat, raped and robbed a 26 year old white woman who had been exercising in central park two days before the attack on the Central Park jogger. The attack was confirmed to have occurred and the victim was tracked down and interviewed. A group attack would be inconsistent with Reyes' criminal history. Similarly, no link between Reyes and the five defendants could be found. When Santana, Richardson and Briscoe were shown a picture of Reyes, they were unable to recognize him.