Ava DuVernay’s ‘Central Park Five’ Netflix Miniseries Announces All-Star Cast
07.12.18 By Innocence Staff
Ava DuVernay will write and direct a four-episode narrative series about the Central Park Five case that will premiere on Netflix in 2019. The series will document the notorious case involving five teenagers of color who were convicted of a 1989 rape they did not commit.
Related: Can You Answer 12 Questions about the Central Park Five Case?
In 1989, Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were wrongfully convicted of the 1989 rape and assault of a female jogger in Central Park. The five youths, who were all between 14 and 16 years old at the time, each falsely confessed or made admissions to the crime after hours of interrogation. The false confessions, along with faulty forensic evidence, were used as evidence to convict them.
Related: Central Park 5 Members Launch #EndNYWrongfulConviction Campaign in Sarah Burns Produced Video
Salaam, Santana, Richardson and McCray spent approximately five years in prison; Wise was incarcerated for nearly 12 years. There was a break in the case in 2002. DNA evidence from the victim’s rape kit identified an offender with a history of similar rapes, proving that the Central Park Five youth were innocent.
Related: Raymond Santana Finds his Passion for Fashion at Home in Harlem
Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) and John Leguizamo (Bloodline) will star in the Netflix series. Williams will play Bobby McCray, father of Antron McCray; Farmiga will play Elizabeth Lederer, the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case; Leguizamo (Bloodline) will play Raymond Santana Sr., father of Raymond Santana Jr.
Stay-tuned for the premiere in 2019!
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March 30, 2020 at 11:57 am
July 23, 2019 at 7:59 am
I have watched your documentary and have watched as they see us now as well.
It is so sickening to see that our country can do this to our youth! It has opened my eyes and I pray you never go through this ever again..I pray for all five of you and your family’s stay strong and God bless you always my friends.
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