With a Heisman trophy, a place in the NFL Hall of Fame, and being known as a television and film personality, O.J. Simpson was the epitome of a celebrity. However, his fame came crashing down on June 12, 1994, when Nicole Simpson, his ex-wife, and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman were found brutally murdered outside their home.
O.J. was ordered to surrender to the police as a possible suspect but instead fled. He was found on a freeway in L.A. being driven by a close friend A.C. Cowlings. After a nationally televised pursuit of the white Bronco that Simpson was riding in, he surrendered himself at his home.
In the People v. O.J. Simpson, the prosecutors had strong evidence painting O.J. as the murderer. Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark had worked out that his alibi didn't check out, he had a history of abusing Nicole, the same glove found in O.J's estate was identical to the one left at the crime scene, and the blood found at the crime scene matched his DNA. With the evidence stacked against O.J, one could assume that case would be a "slam dunk." However, race relations made the trial much more complicated. In the aftermath of the Rodney King riots, black Americans were very distrustful towards the LAPD. In addition to this, many black Americans saw Simpson as someone who represented the black community. This ended up being an important factor in the trial as many African Americans thought that O.J. while a majority of white Americans believed he was the culprit. O.J's defense team, known as the "Dream Team," used this to their advantage by raising doubts about how the evidence was gathered. Their job was to just sway the jury, who were picked to consist of more minorities, to believe their version of the truth. n his iconic closing statement, Simpson's lead attorney Johnnie Cochran demonstrated that the gloves found did not fit O.J. and said "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
The highly publicized nature of the trial made it seem like a reality show. When the verdict was announced, 91% of the nation watching television at the time were watching the reveal. Some criticism has gone back to Judge Lance Ito, who presided over the case, for his part in allowing cameras to publicize the trial, for the public did play a hand in the momentum of the case.
In the end, the jury found O.J. Simpson innocent. This concluded the official trial of the century, but O.J.'s legal troubles would not escape him. He was called back into court for a civil trial. In February 1997, he was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman and was required to pay $33.5 million dollars in damages. To this day, he has not paid the money.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/us/oj-simpson-trial/
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-oj-simpson-stories-storygallery.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/25/black-and-white-americans-can-now-agree-o-j-was-guilty/?utm_term=.654a70aeb82f
This was a really interesting post- I had always heard about this trial but never knew the details of it. It's fascinating to not only see how he was found innocent, but also how he impacted America as a whole. Like you said, African-Americans across the country saw Simpson as a symbol of their community, so in a way, it must have been kind of empowering for him to be let off as innocent. There's a documentary recently made about OJ Simpson, check it out here: http://www.espn.com/30for30/ojsimpsonmadeinamerica/
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I personally have never understood how the jury was able to rule that Simpson was not guilty with the amount of evidence against him. I do see how distrust of the police and the tensions following the riots would have had a significant impact on the decision of a largely minority jury. I also believe that the sheer amount of media coverage that happened throughout the case had a huge impact on how the public was swayed. If you can I recommend you watch "The People vs. OJ Simpson" I'm pretty sure it's on Netflix. It helps with getting the perspective of everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteWow I can't believe that OJ Simpson was acquitted when the evidence was stacked against him, it really shows that racial tensions were so strong that the accusation of racial discrimination, not just the fact that a diverse audience affected the momentum of the case, played a huge role in the decision. I looked up OJ Simpson today, and he is in jail--but for a different crime. Almost 15 years after the murders, Simpson threatened two men at gunpoint at a hotel in Las Vegas. Today, he is eligible for getting parole...a scary thought unless he has turned himself around. For more information, check out this link: http://abcnews.go.com/US/life-oj-simpson-20-years/story?id=24058397
ReplyDeleteThis post is interesting and entertaining to read, but the case of OJ Simpson seems to highlight more than a race problem within the U.S but also a socioeconomic problem where the rich can pay their way out of a murder. The OJ Simpson case has always been looked as a race case but in reality the case is also a massive symptom of a broken system that allows the rich to get off Scot free. There are race problems in the U.S but there is a lot of economic discrimination that can be seen in the case of OJ Simpson.
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