Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
NYC Courtroom Erupts into Applause as Convictions Dismissed
Aired December 19, 2002 - 14:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A courtroom in New York City erupted into applause today as convictions were dismissed for five men. They all served years in jail for the rape and beating of a Central Park jogger in 1989. We get details on a remarkable and emotional turn of events from CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
Hi, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
It was very emotional indeed. By overturning the convictions, the judge sent the message that the five young men should never have been convicted and they should have served any jail time. Each of these young men serving between seven and thirteen years in prison for a crime that now being said they did not commit. This was a very, very short hearing. The judge said he agreed with the district attorney that had new evidence been available back at the time these boys were tried, they never would have been convicted.
That new evidence, of course, the confession of a convicted serial rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes (ph). Now the judge then wished everyone a merry Christmas, and that's when the court erupted into cheers. But it wasn't just elation that was the mood here; it was also anger, and a lot of anger, mothers angry at the district attorney's office, angry at the detectives who got confessions from the five young men, and also anger at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DELORES WISE, MOTHER OF KHAREY WISE: This was something that smacked across my home. OK, so he's given me a Christmas. But what about the almost 14 years of Christmas, you know what I'm saying, that I wasn't able to share with him. You know? Come on. We're human beings. This should have never, never happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: At the same time that the judge was here at the courthouse, another hearing was going on in a different part of town. Detectives union asking a different judge to basically block this judge from making any ruling whatsoever. The detectives are very unhappy. They say that the D.A.'s investigation is one sided, that it relies too heavily on the confessions of just one man. There is the feeling amongst some of the detectives who worked this case more than 14 years ago that somehow the teenagers were involved, or if not involved, that they were in the park that night. And they're angry that all of the convictions have been tossed out. The police union wants its own investigation done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD DIENST, DETECTIVES ASSN.: We may have to make an official application just to reconsider this, to show that the newly discovered evidence is not newly discovered evidence, to show that there are erroneous and incorrect references that the detectives can establish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: A very emotional time in New York City history, new wounds completely reopened because of the judge's ruling. But for the families, they really are elated that, in fact, their sons' names will be cleared after all this times, that their records will be wiped away. There will be no more sexual predator, no more felon, no more DNA, no more fingerprints linking these young men to the rape of the Central Park jogger -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Deborah Feyerick, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Dismissed>
Aired December 19, 2002 - 14:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A courtroom in New York City erupted into applause today as convictions were dismissed for five men. They all served years in jail for the rape and beating of a Central Park jogger in 1989. We get details on a remarkable and emotional turn of events from CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
Hi, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
It was very emotional indeed. By overturning the convictions, the judge sent the message that the five young men should never have been convicted and they should have served any jail time. Each of these young men serving between seven and thirteen years in prison for a crime that now being said they did not commit. This was a very, very short hearing. The judge said he agreed with the district attorney that had new evidence been available back at the time these boys were tried, they never would have been convicted.
That new evidence, of course, the confession of a convicted serial rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes (ph). Now the judge then wished everyone a merry Christmas, and that's when the court erupted into cheers. But it wasn't just elation that was the mood here; it was also anger, and a lot of anger, mothers angry at the district attorney's office, angry at the detectives who got confessions from the five young men, and also anger at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DELORES WISE, MOTHER OF KHAREY WISE: This was something that smacked across my home. OK, so he's given me a Christmas. But what about the almost 14 years of Christmas, you know what I'm saying, that I wasn't able to share with him. You know? Come on. We're human beings. This should have never, never happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: At the same time that the judge was here at the courthouse, another hearing was going on in a different part of town. Detectives union asking a different judge to basically block this judge from making any ruling whatsoever. The detectives are very unhappy. They say that the D.A.'s investigation is one sided, that it relies too heavily on the confessions of just one man. There is the feeling amongst some of the detectives who worked this case more than 14 years ago that somehow the teenagers were involved, or if not involved, that they were in the park that night. And they're angry that all of the convictions have been tossed out. The police union wants its own investigation done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD DIENST, DETECTIVES ASSN.: We may have to make an official application just to reconsider this, to show that the newly discovered evidence is not newly discovered evidence, to show that there are erroneous and incorrect references that the detectives can establish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: A very emotional time in New York City history, new wounds completely reopened because of the judge's ruling. But for the families, they really are elated that, in fact, their sons' names will be cleared after all this times, that their records will be wiped away. There will be no more sexual predator, no more felon, no more DNA, no more fingerprints linking these young men to the rape of the Central Park jogger -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Deborah Feyerick, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Dismissed>
