Ava DuVernay is creating a miniseries about The Central Park Five for Netflix. Five men were falsely convicted of raping Central Park jogger Trisha Meili in 1989. At the time of the incident, Donald Trump took out several newspapers ads for the reinstatement of the death penalty. Matias Reyes confessed to the crime in 2002 and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement. The men who were convicted sued New York City in 2003 but did not receive a settlement until 2014 under Mayor De Blasio because Michael Bloomberg’s previous administration believed the city could win the case. DuVernay released a statement about the miniseries:
 “The story of the men known as the Central Park Five has riveted me for more than two decades. In their journey, we witness five innocent young men of color who were met with injustice at every turn — from coerced confessions to unjust incarceration to public calls for their execution by the man who would go on to be the president of the United States.”
DuVernay previously worked with Netflix on her Oscar-nominated documentary 13th. Her Disney film, A Wrinkle In Time will be released later this year.
