Abstract
O.J. Simpson is a landmark character in the history of legal development. In essence, He is the epitome of the chaos that could arise if money and riches are the currency that can afford to escape justice. Simpson was a rich celebrity due to his professional athletic career, his sports caster skills, and his movie debut. Having lived under the spotlight most of his adult life, he was clearly not the traditional criminal to most people.
Politics and bureaucracy surrounded this scenario due to the sensitive racial climate dominating Los Angeles at the time. Consequently, the prosecution had to wage a war both in the courtroom and out of it. If anything, Simpson’s case should be cited as a very persuasive reason to keep the media out of the courtroom. To compound all the controversial data, this paper carries out an in depth review of O.J. Simpson, prior to and after the conclusion of the case. It reviews his upbringing, his relationship with Nichol and the rest of his peers and friends to draw any relevant comparisons, and finally it analyzes the crime and trial. My position is that Simpson was guilty of the double homicide murders and I proceed to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Introduction
The effect of all the media excitement was the prejudicial pretrial of this case out of court. In many quarters, Simpson was perceived differently. By the black Americans and the non-racist United States, he was a victim of racism, but to the victims’ families he was the villain who needed to be put away for them to attain a semblance of retribution. For his “dream team” defense group, he was a re-launch into the limelight as the case of the century (Rantala, 1996) for they had after all managed to make names for themselves in the profession and now when they colluded to set O.J. free it was a meeting of some genius minds, at the expense of justice.
As for the prosecution, the position is not quite clear and several suggestions through the years seem to point either to overconfidence in securing a conviction given the straightforward nature of the case initially with all the evidence clearly pointing at O.J. as lead and only suspect. This aspect explains why the verdict caused such ripples throughout the United States and the rest of the world. It was unexpected. Finally, the trial also brings in interesting issues such as witness interference and evidence exclusion on technicalities. A close review of the case reveals a lacuna in the law with respect to social status and its effect on the social construction of perspective.
O.J. Simpson upbringing
O.J was the son of Eunice Simpson. This introduction is conventionally the beginning line of most biographies in the contemporary times, which is an important factor for Eunice, his mother, brought him up. Such texts also mention the fact that his father was gay, which also covers all they have to say on him. The father was present with O.J’s mother at his birth, but he soon left to come out in the open as gay.
Despite the fact that he still resided in the neighborhood, he was not available as the male role model in O.J. Simpson’s life. Simpson was born on July 9, 1947, 8:08am, at San Francisco, and this era was not particularly homo-friendly and so the father to O.J. must have been perceived in a negative light. Either way, Eunice did a lot as a single mother in pushing O.J. to live his dream and get out of the ghetto. He was a talented runner who did track while at college, played as a quarterback at some point, got into commentating for NFL for a while, and scaled great walls as a dream athlete. The United States unanimously loved the man up to June 12 1994.
The lack of a father figure, which is comparable to the domination of female presence throughout his childhood and adulthood, could have a significant impact on O.J’s psychological balance. He had to find a way of supplementing the lack of a male figure in his life to allow the healthy growth of his ego and this aspect explains his debut into sports, which is a very masculine line of life. However, since the formative years were well underway, O.J. went on acquiring father figures throughout his life, which were people whom he could look up to and whom he tried to impress. Nevertheless, the damage was already done by now and it is sensible to posit that O.J. may have secretly hated Eunice and loved her simultaneously.
The love would be because she was the only parent he had and she did her level best to give him the best in life. However, he may have harbored some dislike for her due to her control and power over him as a woman. This scenario threatened his masculinity and symbolically made a eunuch of him and this aspect can explain his relationship with Nicole, which was clearly abusive and detrimental to Nicole.
O.J. Simpson, Relationship with Nicole
Nicole Brown Simpson (May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was Orenthal James’ second wife after he divorced Marguerite his first wife in 1980. They (Orenthal and Nicole) had met in 1977 at a Beverly Hills Night Club, Trey’s, while OJ was still married to Marguerite and they started dating immediately. Three years later, OJ and Marguerite divorced and in 1985, Nicole married OJ. They had “two children together, Sydney Brooke Simpson (born on October 17, 1985) and Justin Ryan Simpson (born on August 6, 1988)” (Simmons, 2004, p.26).
They stayed married for seven years, during which Nicole filed several reports with the police on assault or domestic abuse until 1992 when she finally filed for divorce citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. Those who were close to this couple often defined the two as a romantic couple, which was very passionate. In OJ’s book, If I Did It, he reinforces the idea that he loved his wife, whom he clearly thought of very highly.
Prior to that and leading up to the Bronco Car chase, he had drafted a “suicide note” from which he says, “…I loved her, always have and always will. If we had a problem, it’s because I loved her so much” (Simmons, 2004, p.26). This quote raises the question, is this form of love what got out of hand and caused her murder and that of her friend Ron Goldman?
OJ’s prior Behavior
Prior to the murder, OJ was a model American citizen and favorite. He was an accomplished professional football star who could run exceptionally fast. He broke so many speed records and impressed many fans into loving him. He was also a family man and this element could be part of why his fans loved him so much although that is debatable considering that he had several assault charges filed against him by his own wife.
Nevertheless, at the time, this information had not trickled into the public arena. Nicole told her friends, Faye Resnick and Cynthia Shahian that she feared for her life for OJ had threatened to kill her if he ever found her with another man (Bugliosi, 1997). In his book, OJ complains about her pettiness claiming that she would draw him into many arguments on small inconsequential matters. Either way, OJ was definitely in good terms with most people prior to the murder.
The crime scene and evidence
OJ’s perfect world crumbled on June 12, 1994. The bodies of Nicole Brown and her acquaintance, Ronald Goldman, were discovered at the front yard of her Condominium at around midnight. At the time, OJ was in a flight heading to Chicago. The flight had been scheduled for 11.45pm and his chauffer reported to have arrived at OJ’s estate at around 10.25pm. He tried to signal into the house, but did not get any response. A few minutes later, he saw someone matching OJ’s physique crossing the courtyard and then the intercom was answered. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) soon calculated the time difference and realized that OJ had been around at the time of the murders. Consequently, they issued a notice that OJ should turn himself in by June 17, 1994 at 11.00am.
The person who contacted OJ to inform him of his wife’s murder was also shocked by OJ’s indifferent response to the news, for unlike most bereaved relatives; OJ simply stated that he would avail himself soon as he could.
Soon afterwards, OJ attended Nicole’s funeral with close family and while he was there, he read what was later presumed to have been a suicide note in which he stated that he had loved his wife and that he did not kill her. What is interesting here is the tone of the note. It was a resigned tone and clearly not an aggressive tone of a man seeking justice or retribution for the vile atrocity that had just been committed to the woman he loved.
This aspect definitely raises questions just as do the other events immediately after the discovery of the bodies. For instance, after his acquittal, OJ came up with a masterpiece, If I Did It, whereby his opinion of Nicole is somewhat reckless and almost unfeeling. At the end of the read, the reader gets the impression that Nicole had it coming and that she was to blame for what happened to her, which is a phenomenon that psychiatrists throughout the world would only describe as a manifestation of psychotic tendencies. The botched heist in 2007 that saw him locked up for 9-33 years confirms the existence of this condition in OJ. In the end, The United States came to the stark truth, concerning this one time favorite, that he was a criminal.
Bronco Evidence
OJ owned a white Bronco that had critical evidence for the murder, but before he finally surrendered at 8.00 pm on 17 June 1994, he had driven through the city threatening to shoot himself in the head if any police came too close. The car chase had started at 2.00pm and OJ’s friend A.C. Cowlings chauffeured him through town as various friends together with acquaintances engaged him. One such friend, Coach McKay, tried to dissuade OJ from committing suicide, and he stated that OJ had told him he preferred to just ‘go with Nicole’, which to McKay was an admission of OJ’s guilt.
In the white Bronco, the LAPD found DNA evidence that indicated the presence of Nicole and Ronald in the car. Particularly, there were blood samples and DNA material on the dashboard, the door panels, the steering wheel, and the instrument panels. Additionally, the investigators found hair samples at the crime scene to match OJ’s, which in effect placed him at the crime scene. The DNA match was confirmed at one- in- 170 million accuracy and it is a proof beyond any reasonable doubt that either he was the murderer or in some way, he was connected to the murder. There is the additional theory that there may indeed have been a ‘real’ murderer for OJ was very innocent in all of his admissions.
However, this other- party- perpetrator theory fails on the premise that there was no other DNA present either at the crime scene or at OJ’s residence to allude to foul play in framing him. There is also the additional evidence of OJ’s attempt to escape justice as is confirmed by the evidence that the police found in his car, viz. “$8,000 in cash, a change of clothing, a loaded .357 Magnum, a passport, family pictures, and a fake goatee and mustache” (Bailey & Rabe, 2008). This collection of itmesm is proof of an intention to run away and probaby forge a new identity. Innocent men do not run and OJ ran thus casting aspersions on his initially sterling image.
The sock, the Glove, the black knit cap, the ‘magli’ shoes, and the sweat suit fibers
A glove that was “found on the scene contained OJ’s DNA and blood coupled with strands of Goldman’s hair and fabric from the white Bronco’s carpeting” (Rantala, 1996, p.152). The left hand side of the glove was at Nicole’s apartment while the right hand was at Simpson’s place. The manufacturer of both gloves was the same. There was also the “bloody pair of socks with Nicole Brown’s DNA that was recovered under OJ’s bed” (Rantala, 1996, p.53).
This evidence was irrefutable and it tied OJ Simpson to the crime scene for if he had not been there, there is no conceivable reason why he would have in his possession socks that contained blood that matched Nicole’s DNA. However, the jury in this case seems to be very blind to DNA evidence, which by 1994 had been in existence for at least seven years. Moreover, the jury held these reservations on the accuracy of DNA publicly as evidenced by some of the responses that the jury members gave in the questionnaires that were used to pick out the panel.
During the trial, the glove was part of the evidence that the prosecution adduced and defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, who was part of OJ’s dream team defense used this evidence to do theatrics at the trial and acquit James. He made OJ try the glove at court in order to prove to the jury that OJ was innocent, as the glove did not fit him. However, this move was a very feeble attempt to cover up as the other piece of the pair was located under OJ’s own bed and it matched the one found on the crime scene.
There have been several allegations that Cochran, who is since deceased, tampered with the lining of the glove to make it smaller or that since the glove was bloodstained, it had shrunk and so could not fit. However, Cochran’s team has denied all these allegations and it maintained that all the talk of foul play was mere conjecture. Additional proof of OJ’s presence at the crime scene was the dark blue cotton fibers that matched the chauffer’s description of the sweat suit OJ was wearing that night.
As if that is not enough evidence, there were the shoes that OJ is alleged to have won to the murder crime scene. He was a distinguished sportsman with expensive taste and that is what makes it close to impossible for anybody else spotting the Bruno Magli Shoes, size 12, which is OJ’s shoe size. E.J. Flammer, a freelance photographer, alleged that he had a picture that he had taken the previous year, with OJ putting on the same shoes.
This one piece of evidence casts doubts on the credibility of the prosecution for if they needed to confirm whether OJ owned such shoes, all they would have needed to do was to contact the manufacturer and store in question. However, this move did not happen and the defense team refused to allow the photo’s admission into evidence stating that it had been altered. The shoes became relevant when a specialist from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) obtained and analyzed a bloody footprint.
The witnesses, the media and the jury
Several potential witnesses ought to have testified, but they were sold out to the media and so their testimonies they lost admissibility. Examples include
Jill Shively, who actually testified to the grand jury in 1994 that on the night of the murders she had seen a white Ford Branco speed off on Bundy Drive, which was where Nicole’s Los Angeles residence was located, and almost hit another car at the intersection. However, the prosecution had to drop her testimony later when she was sold out to the Hard Copy TV show for $5000. There was also the account of the NFL former player and friend of Simpsons, Grier Rosey, who went to visit Simpson at the Loss Angeles County Jail on the day following the murders and apparently, OJ had confessed his guilt (Cotterill, 2003, p.83).
Grier allegedly urged him to come clean, but a prison guard was the person behind the reporting of all these allegations, and so the evidence was ruled out as hearsay. However, the worst witness was Mark Fuhrman whose testimony was struck out due to his racist sentiments in an earlier unrelated interview for it impugned his credibility and made him to appear to be vindictive to “niggers”.
The jury was definitely handpicked by the defense team to win the case. Of the twelve, nine were black and ten were women. They were uneducated and the survey showed that most of the approved of some level of domestic violence. They were also very opposed to the use of DNA evidence, which is why they let OJ walk free on technicalities (Simmons, 2004, p.26). The media was by far the biggest offender in this injustice and it all started during the Branco Car Chase where almost 20 News helicopters followed the drama and reported it live on almost all channels. In so doing, they had captivated millions that form part of the American audience as well as the majority of the rest of the world. They also brought out most of the witnesses’ testimony and thus they ensured that critical evidence was locked out of the main trial as these witnesses’ credibility was compromised.
At the trial, a team of five very experienced and renowned defense attorneys (who were accustomed to the limelight, as they had previously handled high profile cases) represented OJ. The team included “F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Kardashian, Gerald Uelmen, Carl E. Douglas, and Johnnie Cochran” (Bailey & Rabe, 2008, p. 111).
The presiding judge was J. Lance Ito and Marcia Clark led the prosecution team. That OJ Simpson was guilt is not at any question for all the adduced evidence puts him at the crime scene. However, due to the errors of the police in collecting evidence as well as the fact that the media was fully involved in the entire trial, he was acquitted on technicalities. The defense team is not to blame as it was simply affording its client the best defense it could proffer. However, the prosecution made several mistakes throughout the case such as ignoring the jury selection and leaving out crucial evidence that would have swayed even the DNA–phobic jury.
Reference List
Bailey, F., & Rabe, J. (2008). When the Husband is the Suspect. New York, NY: Forge.
Bugliosi, V. (1997). Outrage: Five reason OJ Simpson got away with murder. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Cotterill, J. (2003). Language and power in court: A linguistic analysis of the O.J. Simpson Trial. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.
Rantala, M. (1996). O.J. Unmasked: The Trial, the Truth, and the Media, Open Court. Illinois, IL:Catfeet Press.
Simmons, B. (2004). O.J.10 years later. The ESPN Magazine, p.26.