Nevada Public Radio Online Auction – Nevada Public Radio Online Auction 2013
Auction Ends: Feb 16, 2013 04:00 PM PST

Books, Music & Video

The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding by Sarah Burns

Item Number
6441
Estimated Value
26 USD
Sold
9 USD to kweber64
Number of Bids
1  -  Bid History

Item Description

A riveting, in-depth account of one of New York City’s most notorious crimes.

On April 20, 1989, the body of a woman is discovered in Central Park, her skull so badly smashed that nearly 80 percent of her blood has spilled onto the ground. Within days, five black and Latino teenagers confess to her rape and beating. In a city where urban crime is at a high and violence is frequent, the ensuing media frenzy and hysterical public reaction is extraordinary. The young men are tried as adults and convicted of rape, despite the fact that the teens quickly recant their inconsistent and inaccurate confessions and that no DNA tests or eyewitness accounts tie any of them to the victim. They serve their complete sentences before another man, serial rapist Matias Reyes, confesses to the crime and is connected to it by DNA testing.

Intertwining the stories of these five young men, the police officers, the district attorneys, the victim, and Matias Reyes, Sarah Burns unravels the forces that made both the crime and its prosecution possible. Most dramatically, she gives us a portrait of a city already beset by violence and deepening rifts between races and classes, whose law enforcement, government, social institutions, and media were undermining the very rights of the individuals they were designed to safeguard and protect.

Item Special Note

Nevada Public Radio has updated its package distribution policies for the 2013 Online Auction.  All packages will be shipped, at the winner's expense, per the NvPR Distribution Policy.  Some exceptions may apply, click here for the complete policy.

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