Class Issues

Another great factor to trial is class system in the society. It has always been that way. In the two cases, it shows that flaws as well. The White teenagers in the Glen Ridge were upper-middle White males.  I want to first talk about why being rich can be very helpful in the trials. If you are rich, you are able to pay for the bail, leave jail, and start an investigations. With the money, people can hire "better attorneys, expert witnesses, private detectives, and more "respectable" alibis" (18). These were the options that Central Park Five could not afford back then. And no public defenders did not bother to focus to help these teenage boys. They also consider if helping the Central Park Five will benefit them. But because of the race and class of the five teenage boys, the defendants probably did not find a need to help them back then. Plus, public defenders are already full with the works they have. In Philadelphia, they had cases of 600 and 1,110 per year. Public defendants usually take care of "150 felonies, 400 misdemeanors, or 200 juvenile cases" (18). 

In the Central Park Jogger Rape case, the teenagers in the beginning confessed that it was their fault. But soon later, they retracted everything and told the court that  "they had been intimidated, lied to, and coerced into making the statements" (19). Even though the DNA evidences did not match any of the convicts, but because of their first confessions, they could not avoid the prison. Here was another flaw that was found in the case. When the actual serial rapist and murderer Matias Reyes, who assaulted Trisha Meili, was caught, there was no notification on the public. According to "New York's Criminal Procedure Law- Section 440.10 (1)(g)states that if "new evidence" is produced that probably would have affected the original verdicts, then a court may "vacate" the convictions. There is no requirement for the court to rule that the confessions were coerced" (19). It means now that the real rapist was found and the DNA evidences matched with Matias Reyes, the five teenagers should be allowed to leave. But because the court hid it to the public, no one knew about this. It is because of their class, that the court did not both to help them. The court did not see the need to help the teenagers, it was just extra work for them. 

Unlike the Central Park Five, the Glen Ridge teenagers were able to escape the prison. Because they were able to pay for the bail, hire attorneys, and be prepare for the trials. Having money and being in upper class, helps you to win the trial.  It is said that, "People who can afford to hire an [private] attorney are less likely to be imprisoned...88 percent of defendants with a public attorney received prison sentences, compared to 77 percent of defendants with private lawyers, between 1990 and 1998" (18). Just like this statistics, the White teenagers were able to face less sentences unlike the Central Park Five who received much longer sentences even though they were not the criminals. And it is more surprising, because the teenagers in Glen Ridge raped the girl with the baseball bat and the broom handle. Plus, they confessed that they did it, but with the help of their attorneys, they made it seem like the girl wanted it. These two cases shows the corrupted justice system. 

Created by: Jung H. Lee