With hate crime and corruption being some of the main talking points in global news, now is perhaps one of the most poignant times to turn our attention to Netflix’s latest original series and how it so beautifully shows how discrimination can reciprocate the concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.

‘When They See Us’ is an absolute masterpiece of modern-day television; it tells the true story of five boys from Harlem whose childhoods were wrongfully stolen by their unjust imprisonment over the rape and attempted murder of a Central Park jogger in 1989.

Directed by Ava DuVernay, the series is divided into four harrowing parts, with each focusing on the developments of the case at hand – the fateful night of the 19th April leading to trial and conviction, imprisonment, liberation and the hardships faced when trying to piece back together a life torn apart in the name of the law.

The stories of the young men in question (Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Antron McCray, soon to be brandished as the ‘Central Park Five’) are perfectly captured as the series casts us back in time to the case’s birthplace, the bustling streets of Harlem, New York City.

Accompanied by the soundtrack of hip-hop anthems of the year itself, the lives of the young men are portrayed within the framework of normality, focusing not on their demonic presentation that would soon be adopted by the media, but instead on the hopefulness of youth and the challenges faced growing up within their underprivileged communities.

Gradually, the sweetness of freedom for the young men begins to sour, as the act of ‘wilding’ (a gang activity in which large groups of young people commit crimes such as theft) lures the Five into the confines of culpability in the eyes of the police, as their presence at Central Park on the night of a rape is seen as sufficient evidence to charge them for the crime.

Despite their location being miles away from the crime scene and the boys’ insistence that they were not involved, the City of New York’s police department continue to manipulate these unaccompanied minors to fabricate self-incriminating confession tapes to create a common trap so that the attempts of the accused to save themselves only seal their tragic fate further.

Although the issue is only ever alluded to within the series, there is an undoubted sense of racial inequality at its roots, particularly as the main reason behind the Five’s imprisonment is their match to a vague racial demographic of ‘young black males’.

Declared by the chief investigator Linda Fairstein (played by Felicity Huffman), this identification is used to then pin the blame of such horrendous wrongdoings on those already classed as ‘criminals’ in the eyes of society purely due to the colour of their skin.

We gradually see the injustice underlying law enforcement as evidence continues to be corrupted to fit a guilty verdict.

Coupled with the teens’ demonisation within the media (including the involvement of the current US President advocating the death penalty for the boys), their looming imprisonment inches ever closer, yet this sadly predictable outcome still does not fail to steal the very breath of the audience, leaving us utterly defenceless at the hands of DuVernay and the phenomenal portrayal of the defendants by Marquis Rodriguez, Kaleel Harris, Asante Blackk, Ethan Herisse and Jharrel Jerome.

We can only stand by and watch as the boys are condemned to life behind bars (which for Korey Wise loses 13 years of his life due to his adult age of 16 upon sentencing), with any hope of justice slowly dissipating before our eyes.

To deem this an emotionally intense watch would be an understatement, but perhaps the most demanding scenes of the series are not those depicting the bloody fistfights of prison, but instead fall with the depiction of the families that the Five left behind, and their unwavering support for their sons throughout the ordeal.

It is this emotional approach to trauma that sets ‘When They See Us’ apart from the rest, as DuVernay tastefully proves of how this injustice is not merely limited to the accused but continues to be felt by the communities learning to cope with their evident rejection from the very city that raised them.

With this in mind, the story of the ‘Central Park Five’ begins to almost step out of itself, in that its localised plot about one case becomes a universal formula with which we are all too familiar.

Whilst capturing the trauma of individuals, DuVernay simultaneously alludes to the fractures in the American Criminal Justice System by revealing police brutality, institutionalised inequality and how life for the freed is warped to render further crime almost inevitable.

We are made to question whether justice is ever truly reached for the Five even once they progress to adulthood and charges are dropped, particularly as this only occurs as the true perpetrator, Matias Reyes, choses to come forward rather than the New York Police Department admitting their foul play.

With such a strong and heartbreakingly relevant political message charging the series, we as the audience are able to peel back the layers of an initially desensitised case to expose the raw inequality that lies at the heart of this shocking true story and the countless others like it.

There are many different approaches which could have been taken in creating this series; those of anger, those of retribution, those of spite.

But DuVernay skilfully avoids such pitfalls by anchoring the story to the only approach worthy, by keeping Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Antron McCray and their families at the forefront, still lacking a formal apology from New York City police to this very day.

DuVernay has made an intimate story accessible to all and has done so with the upmost respect for the ‘Exonerated Five’ – a feat for which she can only be commended.

There is no way that this series will ever atone the flaws that still sit firmly in the US Criminal Justice System, but it is one step towards the process. ‘When They See Us’ is a privilege to watch, and it comes as no surprise that it has obtained 16 nominations for this year’s Emmy awards in September.

But beyond the titles and awards, the series’ grandest achievement is that it opens our eyes so that now, 30 years after the boys’ unlawful arrests, the truth can be appreciated. Now that we know their stories. Now that we hear them. Now that we see them.