Feb. 22, 2026

The Central Park 5— A Confession America Wanted

Panic can make a city certain, and certainty can turn a theory into a conviction. We revisit the Central Park Five—now known as the Exonerated Five—to unpack how five teenagers were funneled from marathon interrogations to headlines that branded them predators, and how DNA evidence and a prison confession finally cracked the story New York believed. Along the way, we trace the mechanics of false confessions, the power of media framing, and the political voices that amplified fear over facts.

I walk through the timeline: a jogger attacked in 1989, a city on edge, and investigators extracting statements from kids without parents or lawyers present. We examine why juveniles are especially vulnerable to coercive tactics, how suggestive questioning plants “facts,” and why a signed statement can mislead juries more than any other form of flawed evidence. Then we follow the unexpected turn—an incarcerated man’s admission corroborated by DNA—that led to vacated convictions, even as some public figures and the survivor continued to dispute the truth.

This story also lives beyond courtrooms. We talk about the human cost: years of youth erased, families strained, and the long road of reentry. Some of the men turned their pain into purpose through advocacy and public service; others still wrestle with trauma that exoneration cannot erase. From there, we get practical about reform—recording all interrogations, banning deceptive tactics on minors, ensuring immediate access to counsel, strengthening conviction integrity units, and teaching media literacy around crime reporting—so the next crisis doesn’t repeat the same script.

If you care about wrongful convictions, juvenile justice, and how race, media, and power shape what we call the truth, this conversation will challenge and inform. Listen, share with someone who still doesn’t know the full story, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Your voice can push these reforms from idea to action—what change do you want to see next?

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Chapters

00:00 - Welcome And Safety Message

00:26 - Setting The Topic: Central Park Five

01:21 - Coerced Confessions And Media Fury

02:11 - Exoneration Through DNA And A Prison Confession

03:00 - Denial, Fallout, And Lasting Harm

05:03 - Closing Gratitude And Show Credits

Transcript

WEBVTT

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Welcome to True Crime, authors and extraordinary people.

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The podcast where we bring two passions together.

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The show that gives new meaning to the old adage, truth is stranger than fiction.

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And reminding you that there is an extraordinary person in all of us.

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Here is your host, David McClam.

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What's going on everybody?

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Welcome back to another episode of True Crime, Authors and Extraordinary People, Black History Month Fact Edition.

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Of course, I'm your man, David McLam.

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If you guys haven't already, make sure you follow us on all of our social media.

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One link to a link tree will get you every place you need to go pertaining to the show.

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And like I always like to remind you, if you are someone or you know someone who feels like hurting themselves or someone else, please leave this episode on dial 988.

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It is the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

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They can get you the help that you need.

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And in case no one else has told you this today, they may be the first one to tell you, I do care.

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And I do need you to be here.

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There is nothing worth your life.

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Alright, you've heard me mention these guys in another episode.

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Today we're gonna talk about the Central Park 5, a confession America Wanted.

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In 1989, a white jogger was assaulted in Central Park.

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The crime horrified New York City.

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Fierce surge, pressure mounted.

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Police arrested five black and Latino teenagers.

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They were interrogated for hours without lawyers, without parents, without sleep.

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They were told lies, promised freedom, threatened with prison.

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Eventually, they confessed to crimes they did not commit.

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The media labeled them predators.

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Politicians demanded punishment.

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A real estate developer named Donald Trump took out newspaper ads calling for the death penalty.

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They were convicted.

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Years later, DNA evidence identified the real attacker.

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He confessed, the convictions were vacated, but the damage were irreversible.

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Years of childhood stolen, families fractured, trust destroyed, the Central Park 5 exposed how easily justice can be manufactured when fear overrides truth, and how eager America is to believe the worst when the accused fit a racial narrative.

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They were exonerated, but they were never restored.

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So I've talked about these guys before in depth.

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I now call them the exonerated five because they've all been exonerated.

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A little piece of that story that's not in here and that you don't know is this.

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Basically, I believe it was Corey Wise.

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He was gonna be doing the longest sentence, and then he had moved somebody into a different prison.

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And Corey Wise one day ends up getting into a fight with the guy that's in prison.

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And he stood his ground.

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The guy was so impressed that he came and told Corey, he says, You guys are in jail for a crime you did not commit.

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Because I did it.

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And he says, I'm willing to go to my attorneys today and tell them I committed this crime and I'll give them anything they want to prove it.

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That's what he did.

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He went, he called his attorney, he told his attorney that he was the one that committed the crime.

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His attorney called the DA, and then they said, Well, you know, can we, you know, just take some swabs or get some hair samples, and DNA came back to him.

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That's how these guys end up getting out.

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Because he stood his ground and the guy's like, You didn't do this crime, man, I did.

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Now I don't know.

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Maybe if Corey never won that fight, maybe he never would have confessed.

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But even though this guy confessed, even though they have the DNA evidence that it was him, to this day, Trisha Melly, who is the woman that was raped, tells you she don't believe it.

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Tells you that these are still the same five that did it.

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Trump himself is called and said that he thinks it's still them.

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When they've been exonerated, this just shows you how good it is that when you have somebody that you don't like, especially in the racial divide, they're trying to keep you where you are.

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Now, a lot of fallout happened because of that.

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I believe the main prosecutor was fired because they found out that she did unethical things to keep these boys in jail.

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I mean, let's name them Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCrae, Yousse Salam, and Corey Wise.

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When you do hear the cases say black and Hispanics, but the Hispanics really didn't do anything time-wise that the five black individuals did.

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Now, Yusuf Salam has gone off to become a politician.

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Think he ran for mayor of New York.

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They've since sued Donald Trump for saying certain things about them.

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Don't know what happened to those cases, but they have.

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And Yusuf Salaam has been on all kinds of TV saying that he would do whatever he can to exonerate their name and to bury Trump and his administration.

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Now, this was long before Trump even thought about running for president, but this should show you how come we all say that he's racist.

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Because it started long before now.

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The Central Part 5 never did recover.

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They never probably will recover.

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Some of them are doing better than others.

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Corey wise to this day still has problems and issues, and they probably will for the rest of their life.

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But the one thing that they can all go to their grave with, no matter what anybody tells them, is that they have been exonerated and they will forever go down in history known as the exonerated five.

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Thank you guys for joining us for this one.

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I know you have many choices in true crime and NV podcast, and I am grateful that I'm one of your choices.

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Remember, you have been listening to the only three-faceted podcasts of its kind.

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Be good to yourself and each other.

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And always remember, always stay humble.

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An act of kindness can make someone's day.

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A little love and compassion can go a long way.

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And remember that there is an externate person in all of us.

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I'll catch you guys on the next one.

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Don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe.

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Feel free to drop us a line at TrueCrime and Authors at gmail.com.

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Cover art and logo designed by Arsenal.

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Sound mixing and editing by David McLenn.

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Intro script by Sophie Wilde and David McLann.

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Theme Music Legendary by New Alchemist.

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Introduction and ending credits by Jackie Voice.

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See you next time on True Crime, Authors, and Extraordinary People.