The Criminal Injustice System: The Cases of The Central Park Five and Kalief Browder.
PART ONE: The Central Park Five Watch the Ken Burns documentary “Central Park Five” – it is available through the PSU library – it is about 2 hours long, make sure you plan your time accordingly. The instructions to view the documentary are included below. After watching the documentary, write a 500 word reaction to the case, focusing on any or all of the following issues: the police and their questioning of the CP5, why people make false confessions and the problematic effect of these confessions, the charges and convictions in light of the lack of evidence/contradictory evidence; the media reaction to the case (how the media treated/described the CP5, the coverage of “wilding,” and the differences between inter- and intraracial rape cases). INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIEWING CENTRAL PARK FIVE DOCUMENTARY: GO THROUGH PSU LIBRARY –> GO TO WWW.ABINGTON.PSU.EDU AND CLICK THE LIBRARIES LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE –> USE PSU LOGIN INFORMATION: SEARCH: “Central Park Five” AND CLICK “KEN BURNS: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE (THIS SHOULD BE THE SECOND RESULT OR YOU CAN GO TO THE LEFT HAND MENU AND CLICK “MORE” FOR “CONTENT TYPE” AND SELECT “VIDEO RECORDING” WHICH FILTER THE RESULTS AND THEN CLICK “ONLINE CONTENT…..” UNDER THE FIRST RESULT, THEN CLICK “ONLINE CONTENT….” AGAIN AND THE PAGE SHOULD SHOW THE LINK TO THE VIDEO NEXT TO “ACCESS ONLINE” (THE LINK WILL START WITH HTTPS://EZACCESS.LIBARIES.PSU.EDU”(Links to an external site.) OR CLICK https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-central-park-five (Links to an external site.)–> WATCH ENTIRE DOCUMENTARY). PART TWO: Kalief Browder Read the articles about the Kalief Browder case included below and write a 500 word reaction to the case, focusing on some of the following issues: the case generally (the evidence and whether you think Kalief should have even been charged), the bail system, plea bargaining (or rather plea extortion), the clogged court system, the “ready rule” or lack of speedy trial, public defenders, life in Rikers, the use of solitary confinement, and the impact on Kalief post-release. Make sure that you do discuss the system of extorting pleas (the tactics and attitudes of the prosecutors and the judges in trying to get Kalief to make a plea – and his resolve to plead not guilty). Before the Law: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/before-the-law (Links to an external site.) EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: VIOLENCE INSIDE RIKERS: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/exclusive-video-violence-inside-rikers (Links to an external site.) Kalief Browder, 1993-2015: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kalief-browder-1993-2015 (Links to an external site.) Kalief Browder Learned to Commit Suicide on Rikers: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kalief-browder-learned-how-to-commit-suicide-on-rikers (Links to an external site.) NOTE: The assignment needs to be a single document (clearly label Part 1 and Part 2). Remember to discuss your REACTION and not just summarize the cases.
The Criminal Injustice System: The Cases of The Central Park Five and Kalief Browder