Central Park 5: Beyond The $40 Million Settlement And The Impact On Pending, Future Cases

Demetria Irwin | The Grio | June 28th, 2014

This important in-depth story highlights the spectrum of compelling reasons to immediately pass Senate Bill 1267 which would require the videotaping of interrogations in New York State.  The article--which can be found here--quotes Senator Perkins at length:  

“We want to guarantee that any confession is acquired in a legal manner without coercion. This bill could end coercion, “ said Perkins.

“The settlement will hopefully encourage us to recognize that this did not have to be the case. The false confessions stemmed from the fact that the defendants were coerced into making those statements. This case is particularly horrible because the man who actually committed the rape, Matias Reyes, went on to kill a pregnant woman and rape many other women. These coerced confessions ended up costing not just the $40 million settlement, not just the injustice inflicted upon the Central Park 5 and their families, but a life was lost. Someone died because a murderer and serial rapist was allowed to remain free while innocent young men were locked up.”