As the sun set on April 19, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Kharey Wise and Yusef Salaam headed out of their Harlem homes and wandered into Central Park to meet up with some others and hang out for the evening. The year was 1989 and young black men were feared by everyone as rates of African American violence skyrocketed through the roof. As these young men gathered, they engaged in a contemporary fad known as "wilding" in which gangs would go out and act violently for the sake of causing trouble. The wandered Central Park, taking things from homeless men, shouting and running loudly, and even pushing one man off a bicycle. At the same time, Tisha Hamilton, an investment banker who lived on Central Park East left her apartment to go for a jog through the park. She rounded a turn and was grabbed, dragged into the woods, brutally beaten, raped, and left to die. The five young men, all of which minors except Wise, were arrested on "unlawful assembly" charges and separated. They each then underwent an intense interrogation. The prosecutors, Linda Fairstein and Elizabeth Leider remarked that the object of the interrogations was "to break the suspect down into a state of despair." After hours of interrogation, each was told that the others had turned on him as the leader. Each was then told that the only way they would be able to leave was if they told the story of what happened. With the assistance of police who fed them facts and information, each fabricated a story of what happened on that night, believing that if they said what the police wanted to hear, they would be allowed to leave. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
New York City at this time was under new management. Mayor Ed Koch had just taken office and had sworn to cut crime rates. As news of this vicious attack hit the press, both he and Governor Cuomo urged for the quick arrest and conviction of these brutal attackers. After receiving confessions from the above five, Fairstein and Leider proceeded quickly with the charges. All but Wise were tried as children and, with the confessions as the only form of evidence, each was found guilty.
It is critical to the understanding of this case that one appreciates the blatant lack of evidence. First and foremost, the confessions of each of the young men, which were the main prop in the prosecution's story, conflicted with one another, resulting in a jumbled mess of incorrect facts. Then there was the evidence itself. First, the trail that Hamilton was dragged down was about 18 inches wide, hardly wide enough for two men, never minds a gang of at least five. Next, the DNA evidence collected from Hamilton and did not match any of the men, logically excluding them from the attack. The response to this fault by detectives was that perhaps there was another attacker that wasn't caught. Finally, witnesses who could place the group around the time of the attack saw them at the complete other side of the park, no where near the location of the rape. With all of this evidence in mind, jurors, plagued by the omnipresent fear of the time, found each man guilty. Wise, the oldest, was sentenced to the longest term as an adult and forced to serve it at Rikers, a "hell on earth" for a youth rapist. It wasn't until Matias Reyas, a long-time offender serving time for multiple rapes, heard Wise's story and adamant declaration that he wasn't guilty that the facts started coming to light. Reyas admitted that he had attacked a woman on the night in question in central park and had never been charged with that attack. He saw the abuse that Wise was suffering and quickly began speaking out in his defense, admitting his own guilty and insisting that the young man be relapsed. Months passed but eventually, Wise, the last of the boys serving time, was released and years later, the charges were completely removed form their records.
Today, we have to wonder how something like this could have happened. Five men were arrested, confessed to the crimes they were accused of, were sent to trial, and were imprisoned...all for a crime they didn't commit! How could the officers have been so blind to the evidence? How could the prosecutors been so ruthless as to seek the death penalty? How could the government spokesmen been so eager to set a precedent that they could ignore the blatant absence of justice? Simple...public fear. The people of the city were terrified at that time, afraid if they saw a black person coming up the street or standing on the corner. Racial tensions were an issue, but it was a double-sided issue. Indeed, it was mostly African Americans that were at fault for the soaring crime rates, but at the same time, African Americans born in the city were engrained with this idea that they would grow up to be violent! It was quiet the self-fulfilling prophesy. It's amazing how fear could lead people to make such huge mistakes. The five were fearing for their lives when they offered their confessions, the jury members were fearing for their safety in the city. One has to consider the role that social mentality plays on individuals in the community, especially when it comes to crime. I'd like to think that I would not be able to confess to a crime I didn't commit or sit on a jury and convict people I knew were innocent, but I suppose the fear our society today feels towards terrorists is very similar. You never know the extent of logic until it is broken by fear.
The Central Park Five
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
#4 Patty Hearst
In light of the recently-passed 40th anniversary, I have decided to dedicate this blog to an exploration of the case of Patty Hearst. Patty Hearst is the granddaughter of William Randolf Hearst, the famous newspaper publisher who built the largest newspaper chain America had ever seen. Patricia was heir to his vast fortune when she was kidnapped on February 4th, 1974 at age 19. A sophomore a Berkley, Patricia was taken from her apartment where she lived with her fiancé. After the kidnapping the case went cold.
April 15th, 1974: Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, CA; 9:40am. It was a normal tax day in this San Francisco bank when the door burst open and 4 white women and 1 black man burst in shouting for everyone to hit the floor. Guns were swung around the room and two patrons were wounded as $10,000 was taken from the bank. After what the criminals thought was a clean escape, police began reviewing video surveillance from the bank. On the tape, the unlikely face of Patty Heart appeared, seeming as excited and impassioned as the rest. How did such a famous political face end up robbing her story? Her story is amazing.
Patty was taken by the Symbionese Liberation Army , a group with an agenda of instigating a revolution for the oppressed and underprivileged. They targeted Patty as a big face of the upper class political sphere to make a sure-fire impression and begin their war against the rich and famous. After taking her, Patty recounted (it should be added, after much reprogramming), they kept her in a closet and shattered every established norm of her life. Some of the techniques they employed included isolation, violation of privacy, assault, and indoctrination of creeds. When put in such a position, psychologists explained, an individual begins to reform their most fundamental foundations of existence. Patty was engrained with ideas of oppressed lower classes and malicious upper classes, in which she had been raised and had come to enjoy. Her entire personality was reprogrammed into a woman with the same agenda as the group. Her new name was Tania and she was as passionate about the SLA's cause as any other member. When her face appeared on the footage, the Attorney General issued a warrant for her arrest and she was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison.
A huge question in this was whether Patty Hearst could really be punished for crimes that an individual with the identity of Tania committed. Was it really Patty behind these crimes or was it really a whole new individual? It was difficult for F. Lee Baily, one of the most famous defense attorneys of the time and the one hired for Patty, to make the case for brainwashing due largely to initial testimony by Patty. In a statement just days after the robbery, she was quoted saying "As for being brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous to the point of being beyond belief." She fully considered herself a member of the SLA and saw no fault in her actions. This was what was in the minds of the jury when they convicted her.
The Story of Patty Hearst
The case of Patty Hearst brings up some serious questions about brain washing and programming of the mind. A big problem in this case was the theory that Patty was in fact brainwashed into the new identity of Tania, but was then reprogrammed (ironically, using similar methods to those of the kidnappers) back into Patty. When considered in this way, society itself must be examined for cases of brainwashing. This was a big concept brought up by the prosecution. Just because someone's values are radically changed does not mean that it is not still the individual. I was surprised by this conclusion but the evidence was impressive. The experts for the prosecution explained that although Patty was not "Patty" at the time of the crimes, the change in personality and identity does not diminish her culpability. The defense tried to argue that her new personality, which was made possible by the malleability of a mind under sever trauma, was evidence that she could not form proper criminal intent. The defense loosely tried to tie this to the insanity defense as well, but with no success. The conclusion reached by the jury was that the impressionability of the mind does not alleviate someone of guilty of they commit a crime.
The themes present in this case led me to assess many common occurrences in society. Trends such as new fashions or popular songs often become popular due to a notion known as "group think," the idea that an individual will be more willing to succumb to societal pressure and being thinking the same way as others in a group when certain pressures are exerted. Many of these, including isolation and immersion in the theories, are the same tactics used in brainwashing, just over shorter periods of time. Thought must be given to this. Are we all being constantly brainwashed by our society. Are we ever a pure version of ourselves? It seems we are not!
April 15th, 1974: Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, CA; 9:40am. It was a normal tax day in this San Francisco bank when the door burst open and 4 white women and 1 black man burst in shouting for everyone to hit the floor. Guns were swung around the room and two patrons were wounded as $10,000 was taken from the bank. After what the criminals thought was a clean escape, police began reviewing video surveillance from the bank. On the tape, the unlikely face of Patty Heart appeared, seeming as excited and impassioned as the rest. How did such a famous political face end up robbing her story? Her story is amazing.
Patty was taken by the Symbionese Liberation Army , a group with an agenda of instigating a revolution for the oppressed and underprivileged. They targeted Patty as a big face of the upper class political sphere to make a sure-fire impression and begin their war against the rich and famous. After taking her, Patty recounted (it should be added, after much reprogramming), they kept her in a closet and shattered every established norm of her life. Some of the techniques they employed included isolation, violation of privacy, assault, and indoctrination of creeds. When put in such a position, psychologists explained, an individual begins to reform their most fundamental foundations of existence. Patty was engrained with ideas of oppressed lower classes and malicious upper classes, in which she had been raised and had come to enjoy. Her entire personality was reprogrammed into a woman with the same agenda as the group. Her new name was Tania and she was as passionate about the SLA's cause as any other member. When her face appeared on the footage, the Attorney General issued a warrant for her arrest and she was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison.
A huge question in this was whether Patty Hearst could really be punished for crimes that an individual with the identity of Tania committed. Was it really Patty behind these crimes or was it really a whole new individual? It was difficult for F. Lee Baily, one of the most famous defense attorneys of the time and the one hired for Patty, to make the case for brainwashing due largely to initial testimony by Patty. In a statement just days after the robbery, she was quoted saying "As for being brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous to the point of being beyond belief." She fully considered herself a member of the SLA and saw no fault in her actions. This was what was in the minds of the jury when they convicted her.
The Story of Patty Hearst
The case of Patty Hearst brings up some serious questions about brain washing and programming of the mind. A big problem in this case was the theory that Patty was in fact brainwashed into the new identity of Tania, but was then reprogrammed (ironically, using similar methods to those of the kidnappers) back into Patty. When considered in this way, society itself must be examined for cases of brainwashing. This was a big concept brought up by the prosecution. Just because someone's values are radically changed does not mean that it is not still the individual. I was surprised by this conclusion but the evidence was impressive. The experts for the prosecution explained that although Patty was not "Patty" at the time of the crimes, the change in personality and identity does not diminish her culpability. The defense tried to argue that her new personality, which was made possible by the malleability of a mind under sever trauma, was evidence that she could not form proper criminal intent. The defense loosely tried to tie this to the insanity defense as well, but with no success. The conclusion reached by the jury was that the impressionability of the mind does not alleviate someone of guilty of they commit a crime.
The themes present in this case led me to assess many common occurrences in society. Trends such as new fashions or popular songs often become popular due to a notion known as "group think," the idea that an individual will be more willing to succumb to societal pressure and being thinking the same way as others in a group when certain pressures are exerted. Many of these, including isolation and immersion in the theories, are the same tactics used in brainwashing, just over shorter periods of time. Thought must be given to this. Are we all being constantly brainwashed by our society. Are we ever a pure version of ourselves? It seems we are not!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
#3 Ted Kaczynski
"What an awful irony if I were to take action to prevent...the further loss of life and it ended up in the loss of my own brother's."
David Kaczynski sat by his mother's side, horrified, as his brother Ted was charged with historically-horrific crimes and the death penalty was sought by the prosecutor. Ted Kaczynski, popularly known as the Unabomber, had wreaked havoc on the United States for 17 years and had just been turned in by his own brother. After the largest man-hunt in the nation's history, Ted was caught when his brother recognized his writing style after the Unabomber published his manifesto in the newspaper. Ted, who had been living alone in the woods of Lincoln, Montana "Thoreau-style" was tracked down and arrested. Charged with being the mastermind behind bombs mailed across the country that injured 23 and killed 3, Kaczynski pled not guilty. The prosecutor, however, had an air-tight case with evidence including drafts of the Unabomber's manifesto along with Kaczynski's diary being found in his cabin. His defense attorneys sought the insanity defense after state and private psychologists examined Kaczynski and determined that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. His reaction? Outrage! Kaczynski raged furiously against his attorneys and petitioned to have them dismissed so that he could argue his own defense. The judge, upon reading the reports that Kaczynski was competent to stand trial but seriously ill, determined that he must keep his attorneys and Kaczynski attempted suicide as a result. He believed that in attempting to use the insanity defense, his attorneys were actually siding with the government and trying to discredit his beliefs and testaments. (More on this later) After many attempts at reasoning with him, Kaczynski's lawyers finally convinced him that only with a life in prison would he be able to remain influential. He gave in and pled guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance for parole.
The first question people need to ask when examining a case such as this is what drove the person to commit the crime that they did. Let's look at Ted's story from birth to the time of his imprisonment. Ted was the first-born of his loving parents. His mother described him as an energetic, joyful child that loved his parents. At 9 months old, baby Ted became seriously ill with hives covering his body. He was placed in isolation where his parents were not allowed to see or hold him. When he returned home, his mother noticed a drastic difference in her child. He took weeks to even look at her and was completely unresponsive to her loving embraces. He became a cold and isolated child, she explained, something he never grew out of. His parents entered him in pre-school at a young age, worried about his lack of socialization. Teachers were amazed at his seemingly mature demeanor as he declined to play with other children. By fifth grade, they noticed an amazing intellect and, after an IQ test revealed that Ted was brilliant, he began skipping grades. At age 16, Ted entered Harvard to study mathematics, graduating with a degree at age 20. It was his time at Harvard that many believe led to his further withdrawal from society. Coming from a small lower-middle class family, Ted sought out Harvard as a place to study vigorously in his choice subject. What he did not anticipate was the atmosphere. Ted was placed in Elliot House, a notoriously wealthy dorm at this time. He did not fit in at all and had serious trouble making any friends. He withdrew further and was later described as a messy isolationist who preferred studying independently to interacting with others. Then, during his sophomore year, Ted became part of a Psychology study run by Dr. Henry Murray. The experiment was to examine peoples' reactions to stress-inducing situations. Each candidate was told they would be debating their personal philosophy with another student and were asked to write a preliminary paper about their philosophy. In reality, they were put in a room and viciously belittled and interrogated by a professional attorney. It was this pivotal incident that experts believe made Kaczynski emotionally unstable. As this time was one of open psychological experiments without many of the safety measures in place today, there was no period of recovery or reprograming for those experimented on. Ted was sent back into society emotionally unstable and vulnerable. After graduating from Harvard, he went to the University of Michigan, a "hot spot" of liberal ideology during that time period. Few became close with Ted here but those that knew him failed to observe the drastic change in his personal philosophy. He adopted many of the liberal ideas the were swarming the campus. His greatest belief was in the adverse effects of technology. He believed the world he lived in was being destroyed by the technology that humans had created to improve it. He foresaw a future where humanity served technology-where technology was a critical part of every aspect of life and humans were completely dependent on it. This is what ultimately led to his targeting scientists and figure-heads of corporations that he believed were supporting this technology and the decline of nature.
Ted Kaczynski Biography
Ted Kaczynski has always been a fascinating case for curious psychologists and sociologists to study. They love to examine what factors in his life, from his family to his social encounters to his cultural upbringing, led to his heinous crimes. I personally enjoyed hearing about the psychology experiment and the subsequent imprinting of ideas from radicals around him. I was amazed to hear about the lack of support and recovery period after the experiment. I suppose it goes to show that blind research "for the sake of science" is not okay! I was also surprised by the grave consequences of such a brief period of isolation as a baby. It's amazing how such seemingly small things can come together to create such a huge tragedy. I think it is important to look at Ted's story after his arrest. His lawyers sought the insanity defense, which to many seemed like a logical path to take. But to Ted, this was a grave insult to his ideology and he would rather have died than seen his manifesto be discredited. He truly believed in what he fought against and, although psychologists determined him to have paranoid schizophrenia, he believed he was perfectly sane. I admire the attempts by his family to have him committed to a mental hospital, but I can understand why this would be such an issue. They were genuinely worried about him, but how could anybody have known what he was really capable of. The story of Ted is a testament to the power mental conditioning. Each of the factors that contributed to his ultimate departure from normalcy seemed trivial, but when compounded, they led to the creation of something nobody expected. This goes to show the intense power of one's surroundings on their character and decision-making process.
David Kaczynski sat by his mother's side, horrified, as his brother Ted was charged with historically-horrific crimes and the death penalty was sought by the prosecutor. Ted Kaczynski, popularly known as the Unabomber, had wreaked havoc on the United States for 17 years and had just been turned in by his own brother. After the largest man-hunt in the nation's history, Ted was caught when his brother recognized his writing style after the Unabomber published his manifesto in the newspaper. Ted, who had been living alone in the woods of Lincoln, Montana "Thoreau-style" was tracked down and arrested. Charged with being the mastermind behind bombs mailed across the country that injured 23 and killed 3, Kaczynski pled not guilty. The prosecutor, however, had an air-tight case with evidence including drafts of the Unabomber's manifesto along with Kaczynski's diary being found in his cabin. His defense attorneys sought the insanity defense after state and private psychologists examined Kaczynski and determined that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. His reaction? Outrage! Kaczynski raged furiously against his attorneys and petitioned to have them dismissed so that he could argue his own defense. The judge, upon reading the reports that Kaczynski was competent to stand trial but seriously ill, determined that he must keep his attorneys and Kaczynski attempted suicide as a result. He believed that in attempting to use the insanity defense, his attorneys were actually siding with the government and trying to discredit his beliefs and testaments. (More on this later) After many attempts at reasoning with him, Kaczynski's lawyers finally convinced him that only with a life in prison would he be able to remain influential. He gave in and pled guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance for parole.
The first question people need to ask when examining a case such as this is what drove the person to commit the crime that they did. Let's look at Ted's story from birth to the time of his imprisonment. Ted was the first-born of his loving parents. His mother described him as an energetic, joyful child that loved his parents. At 9 months old, baby Ted became seriously ill with hives covering his body. He was placed in isolation where his parents were not allowed to see or hold him. When he returned home, his mother noticed a drastic difference in her child. He took weeks to even look at her and was completely unresponsive to her loving embraces. He became a cold and isolated child, she explained, something he never grew out of. His parents entered him in pre-school at a young age, worried about his lack of socialization. Teachers were amazed at his seemingly mature demeanor as he declined to play with other children. By fifth grade, they noticed an amazing intellect and, after an IQ test revealed that Ted was brilliant, he began skipping grades. At age 16, Ted entered Harvard to study mathematics, graduating with a degree at age 20. It was his time at Harvard that many believe led to his further withdrawal from society. Coming from a small lower-middle class family, Ted sought out Harvard as a place to study vigorously in his choice subject. What he did not anticipate was the atmosphere. Ted was placed in Elliot House, a notoriously wealthy dorm at this time. He did not fit in at all and had serious trouble making any friends. He withdrew further and was later described as a messy isolationist who preferred studying independently to interacting with others. Then, during his sophomore year, Ted became part of a Psychology study run by Dr. Henry Murray. The experiment was to examine peoples' reactions to stress-inducing situations. Each candidate was told they would be debating their personal philosophy with another student and were asked to write a preliminary paper about their philosophy. In reality, they were put in a room and viciously belittled and interrogated by a professional attorney. It was this pivotal incident that experts believe made Kaczynski emotionally unstable. As this time was one of open psychological experiments without many of the safety measures in place today, there was no period of recovery or reprograming for those experimented on. Ted was sent back into society emotionally unstable and vulnerable. After graduating from Harvard, he went to the University of Michigan, a "hot spot" of liberal ideology during that time period. Few became close with Ted here but those that knew him failed to observe the drastic change in his personal philosophy. He adopted many of the liberal ideas the were swarming the campus. His greatest belief was in the adverse effects of technology. He believed the world he lived in was being destroyed by the technology that humans had created to improve it. He foresaw a future where humanity served technology-where technology was a critical part of every aspect of life and humans were completely dependent on it. This is what ultimately led to his targeting scientists and figure-heads of corporations that he believed were supporting this technology and the decline of nature.
Ted Kaczynski Biography
Ted Kaczynski has always been a fascinating case for curious psychologists and sociologists to study. They love to examine what factors in his life, from his family to his social encounters to his cultural upbringing, led to his heinous crimes. I personally enjoyed hearing about the psychology experiment and the subsequent imprinting of ideas from radicals around him. I was amazed to hear about the lack of support and recovery period after the experiment. I suppose it goes to show that blind research "for the sake of science" is not okay! I was also surprised by the grave consequences of such a brief period of isolation as a baby. It's amazing how such seemingly small things can come together to create such a huge tragedy. I think it is important to look at Ted's story after his arrest. His lawyers sought the insanity defense, which to many seemed like a logical path to take. But to Ted, this was a grave insult to his ideology and he would rather have died than seen his manifesto be discredited. He truly believed in what he fought against and, although psychologists determined him to have paranoid schizophrenia, he believed he was perfectly sane. I admire the attempts by his family to have him committed to a mental hospital, but I can understand why this would be such an issue. They were genuinely worried about him, but how could anybody have known what he was really capable of. The story of Ted is a testament to the power mental conditioning. Each of the factors that contributed to his ultimate departure from normalcy seemed trivial, but when compounded, they led to the creation of something nobody expected. This goes to show the intense power of one's surroundings on their character and decision-making process.
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