O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
Kyle Vladetich
Robert Haywood
CRIM 101
September 20th, 2012
O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
Introduction
On June 12, 1994, Former American football star O.J. Simpson (Orenthal James Simpson) was arrested for the brutal murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in their Brent-wood townhouse. Police reports indicate that Nicole and Ronald where both repeatedly stabbed to death. O.J. served 473 days in custody for these two murders, won his criminal trial which was the lengthiest in the U.S. legal history showing more than 50,000 transcript pages, and after all of this he pleaded 100% not guilty, walking away from all this with no scratch in his name.
There are several emotions that surrounded this court case. Racism is just one of the profound emotions that Americans came up with. O.J., being African-American, had more African American supporters than you could even realize. According to BBC.co.uk “polls suggested that most black Americans regarded O.J. As a victim of racism in contrast to more than 50% of whites who considered him guilty.” Polls, however mean nothing when it comes down to a murder trial. What really matters is the evidence, in which can either set you free, or make you pay the ultimate price.
There was an abundance of evidence recovered by police and the prosecuting attorney that really makes you think about how in the world this man was set free. For instance, there was a bloody shoe found around the crime scene but not just any shoe, it was a size 12 Bruno Magli shoe, a relatively rare Italian-made model. It just so happens that O.J. Simpson wears a size 12. It also happens to be a coincidence that, according to the prosecuting attorney, O.J. Shopped at this particular store that often sold this brand of shoe.
Another Strong piece of evidence was the blood stains found in and on O.J.'s car, clothes, and the murder weapon. What stands out more than
Cited: "1995: OJ Simpson Verdict: 'Not Guilty '" BBC News. BBC, 3 Oct. 2005. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/>. Thagard, Paul. "Why Wasn 't O.J. Convicted? Emotional Coherence in Legal Inference." (2003): 361-83. EBSCOHOST. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.