The show is a four-part limited series, with the first two episodes focused on the boys and the events leading up to their arrest, unlawful interrogation, and trial where they were all found guilty. The next two episodes are focused on the men they became in prison and what happened to them when they got out. Duvernay's powerful documentary, 13TH already tackled the notorious American prison industrial complex, but in this series, we get to see the human cost on an individual level. As each of these men are released from prison, they find that they will continue to be treated as prisoners for the rest of their lives. A parole officer walks one man through the rules, and how he can't get a job anywhere that another felon is already employed as felons aren't allowed to interact. Another member of the Five wants to be a teacher - nope, can't get any job that requires licensure once you've been incarcerated, and no way you'll be allowed around children after being accused of a sex crime. It's no wonder then that these men struggle to get back on their feet. But the fourth episode is reserved almost exclusively for Korey Wise, the only member of the Five who was 16 at the time of arrest and therefore tried as an adult (why can you be tried as an adult at 16? Search me, nothing about the American criminal justice system makes any sense.) After the guilty verdict was returned, he was sent to the infamous Riker's Island prison, subjected to violence and barbaric cruelty at the hands of his fellow prisoners and guards. He also spent long stretches in solitary confinement, suffering for twelve whole years before new evidence was found and he was finally exonerated of his crimes.
There's so much that is upsetting and needlessly cruel about this case. There's the police brutality and the inhumane racism with which these children were treated during police questioning. The police twisted the facts to suit their needs, and they desperately needed these five boys to be violent rapists instead of just five boys who were hanging out in the park. The title of the series, When They See Us, is a reminder that the "they" in question, i.e. the police/media/white majority, do not see innocent children when they see a group of black teenagers. They see "animals," "thugs," and dangerous criminals who do not deserve any rights and don't have to be treated fairly when accused of a crime. These children can be tortured, threatened, and beaten until they confess to crimes they never committed, and their families can be pressured, lied to, and forced to sign affidavits and testimonies that they don't understand, without any lawyers present. Justice is a farce when you're a minority - you don't have the same rights as a white criminal and you will be treated as a dangerous man instead of a scared boy.
What has always struck me about this case, and what struck me anew in watching this series, is how these five boys (and later men) never admitted their guilt. They could have gotten a plea deal, they could have gotten out on early parole, but they knew they didn't commit this heinous crime, and they refused to lie and say they did it, even when it would have made their lives marginally easier. In this case, they finally received some justice, and it is particularly heartening to know that Korey Wise donated the money from his settlement to the University of Colarado's Innocence Project to help future generations of the innocent be exonerated. But When They See Us is an all-encompassing view of what this case did to these five boys and their families. Each one has a unique story and set of circumstances, and each is painful and shocking. The vitriol that they were subjected to in the press (and of course, from Donald Trump, because that man was always a god-awful racist, well before he became our nation's Grand Wizard-in-Chief) centered around them being poor minority kids, who were presumably raised by shoddy parents, with no rules and respect for society. But no - these were just ordinary kids, some of whom had better parents than others, but all of whom knew that you didn't just go into the Park and violently assault and rape a woman. It is so easy to treat people who don't look like you as the "other," capable of absolute barbarism. But they aren't different, they just don't look like you. By humanizing each of the Five, Duvernay breaks down the barriers between us and them, and makes it a story about Korey, Antron, Yusef, Raymond, and Kevin. It is a story that is heartbreaking and unfortunately still a reality in this day and age.
When They See Us is a powerful and moving series, and every performance in it is a revelation. Jharrel Jerome and Niecy Nash, who play Korey Wise and his mom, are particularly spectacular, and I defy anyone to watch Episode 4 and not want to throw something at their TV screen as they watch this innocent kid get broken by the prison system. What's even more galling is that he was never on the police's list to begin with - he only went into the station to support his friend Yusef who had been called in for questioning, and then ended up getting the harshest sentence of all the boys. I wish I had hope that things had changed, but we all know that things are still grossly unfair and inhumane for minorities, who get tossed into prison for all manner of petty violations and then enter into a tyrannical cycle of disenfranchisement that they will almost never break free from. This story has a "happy" ending of sorts, but all it does it remind you of the thousands of people still suffering in our prisons, who might be innocent, or should have been given any number of other options before being tossed into jail. Watch this series, watch 13TH, and then start petitioning every politician you know for prison reform. It's one more thing we need to fight for.
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