Orenthal James Simpson (also abbreviated as O.J. Simpson) was a famous former American football runner-back. In addition to this, he was also a broadcaster and an actor. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills, and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.[1] In this article we will be discussing the well-known notorious criminal trial that went on for over a year, The People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson.
The trial began in 1994 and took place at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Simpson was accused of the brutal murder of his ex-wife and her friend, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
“If the early reports of the murder of the wife of the ex-football-star-turned-sports-announcer hadn’t caught people’s full attention, Simpson’s surreal Bronco ride on the day of his arrest certainly did–ninety-five million television viewers witnessed the slow police chase live. The 133 days of televised courtroom testimony turned countless viewers into Simpson trial junkies. Even foreign leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Boris Yeltsin eagerly gossiped about the trial. When Yeltsin stepped off his plane to meet President Clinton, the first question he asked was, “Do you think O. J. did it?” When, at 10 a.m. PST on October 3, Judge Ito’s clerk read the jury’s verdict of “Not Guilty,” 91% of all persons viewing television were glued to the unfolding scene in the Los Angeles courtroom.”[2]
After the death of Nicole and Ronald, Simpson automatically became the primary suspect. Naturally, he was supposed to turn himself in, however, turned into a two-hour-long car chase. Simpson was avoiding being arrested and decided to hide at the back of his friend’s car – A.C. Cowlings – where they continued to be chased by the LAPD. The attempted “escape” was televised live nationally—seen by an estimated 95 million viewers—and hundreds of Simpson’s fans lined the streets in support of him.[3] The chase had finally ended at Simpson’s home in Brentwood, California.
“On June 17, 1994, Los Angeles was mesmerized by live television news coverage of the pursuit. Thousands cheered, hanging from freeway overpasses and stopping to get out of their cars. They held signs and chanted: “Go, O.J.!” His driver, best friend and former Buffalo Bills teammate Al “A.C.” Cowlings, on a call with police, said Simpson had a gun to his head and wanted to go to his house. By nightfall, Simpson was inside his Brentwood home, where police allowed him to drink a glass of orange juice and phone his mother before taking him into custody.”[4]
THE GRUESOME DOUBLE MURDER
There are various variations in how the murders took place. Some say Goldman was Brown’s friend and or she and he had an affair and Simpson in an act of rage not able to tolerate the affair killed both, or it was a pizza delivery boy or Ronald (a waiter) who returned to Brown’s place to return the scarf she had left at the restaurant accidentally. To this day there is much confusion as to what exactly went down in the Brentwood neighborhood in Los Angeles. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, in June of 1994, a 25-year-old waiter named Ronald Goldman was working at the Mezzaluna restaurant in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[5]
On June 12, Nicole Brown Simpson was dining at the said restaurant with family and friends. CNN reports that “around 9:15 p.m. Nicole’s mother had left her glasses at the restaurant which Ronald Goldman volunteers to return. By 9:48 p.m. – 9:50 p.m. – Goldman leaves the restaurant with a white envelope containing the glasses. At 10:15 p.m. – Pablo Fenjves, a neighbour of Nicole Brown Simpson, hears the cries and constant barking of a dog. At 10:25 p.m. – Limousine driver Allan Park arrives at Simpson’s home and around 10:40-10:50 p.m. – Park buzzes the intercom several times but does not get any response. Shortly before 11 p.m. – Park sees a black person, six feet, 200 pounds, walking across the driveway towards the house. Several seconds later, Park again buzzes the intercom and Simpson answers. He says he overslept and just got out of the shower. By 11:45 p.m. – Simpson leaves on an American Airlines flight to Chicago. Finally, around 12:10 a.m. – The bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are discovered outside her townhouse.”[6]
After the arrest of Simpson, he was interviewed by Philip Vannatter and Thomas Lange, the Los Angeles Police Department’s chief investigators for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.[7] Below is an excerpt of the statements given by O.J. to the LAPD.
Vannatter: So, what time do you think you got back home, actually physically got home?
Simpson: Seven-something.
Vannatter: Seven-something? And then you left, and…
Simpson: Yeah, I’m trying to think, did I leave? You know, I’m always …I had to run and get my daughter some flowers. I was actually doing the recital, so I rushed and got her some flowers, and I came home, and then I called Paula as I was going to her house, and Paula wasn’t home.
Vannatter: Paula is your girlfriend?
Simpson: Girlfriend, yeah.
Vannatter: Paula who?
Simpson: Barbieri.
Vannatter: You got a phone number?
Simpson: Yeah (number deleted by STAR).
Vannatter: So, you didn’t see her last night?
Simpson: No, we’d been to a big affair the night before, and then I came back home. I was basically at home. I mean, any time I was…whatever time it took me to get to the recital and back, to get to the flower shop and back, I mean, that’s the time I was out of the house.[8]
As per the autopsy report done at the Department of CORONER Los Angeles, California on June 14, 1994. It details that Goldman sustained a sharp force wound on the neck, and multiple stab wounds on the chest, abdomen, and left thigh. In addition to this, multiple incised wounds on the scalp, face neck, chest, and left hand (what is called a defense wound).[9]
THE FINAL VERDICT
The O.J. Simpson case is still considered the “trial of the century”, the case that shook the entire America. The criminal trial as long as it was also the most intricate case in American history. A real-life courtroom drama that the entire America was keeping track of every single minute. It seemed so at one point no news was bigger or more controversial than the Simpson murder trial. The same was covered with intense scrutiny.
It is needless to say that lot many loopholes in the investigation or what we call the “media trial” could have been avoided. “The media were more than mere storytellers. They became story-makers. They first broadcasted that the Simpson story was a tale of celebrity and the fall of a ‘great man’. Then they continued to reinvent the story as a tale of domestic violence, wealth, status, and, finally, race. Whether such stories actually were tied to the real social fabric of American life was largely irrelevant. The media insisted that the Simpson story contained a lasting narrative about the human condition, and, through the sheer pervasive nature of their stories, we mostly bought into it. Moreover, the trial lasted nine months, involved 126 witnesses and cost Los Angeles County an estimated $ 9 million. The official court transcripts from the trial, amounting to 50,000 pages, or 6.2 million words, of trial talk, from the basis of this analysis of trial language.”[10]
The final jury composition consisted of 9 blacks, 1 Hispanic, and 2 whites, the majority (that is 10) were women and two (2) were men. [11] “In addition to this, the jury by education was categorized into 2 college graduates, 9 high school graduates and 1 without a diploma. Some other facts about the final jury: None regularly read a newspaper, but eight regularly watch tabloid TV shows, five thought it was sometimes appropriate to use force on a family member, all were Democrats, five reported that they or another family member had had a negative experience with the police, nine thought that Simpson was less likely to be a murderer because he was a professional athlete. The racial composition of the initial jury pool differed considerably from the racial composition of the final jury. The pool was 40% white, 28% black, 17% Hispanic, and 15% Asian.”[12]
CONCLUSION
As stated earlier, there were many loopholes in the whole process of the trial. The entire nation genuinely believed that Simpson killed Brown and Goldman. Naturally pronouncing the verdict of “not guilty” shocked everyone and was widely considered a failure of the judicial and legal system.
On one hand, the Prosecutors stated that there was strong evidence to prove that Simpson in fact was the murderer. This included the blood stain, glove etc., present at the crime scene, the timings of Simpson’s leaving for the Chicago flight and the fact that there were domestic violence claims against him suggesting a strong motive to kill Nicole. However, Simpson’s lawyers stated the opposite of all the claims laid out by the prosecution. They claimed he was innocent and that the time and location would make it impossible for Simpson to actually carry out the homicides. Moreover, there was no existence of physical abuse between Simpson and Brown. In addition to this, it was believed that an investigative officer considered to be racist might have planted the evidence to frame Simpson. The fact that the entire LAPD was to be blamed for not carrying out the investigation professionally and not being careful when it came to forensic evidence was a fiasco that could have been avoided.
DO YOU THINK HE DID IT?
[1] O. J. Simpson - Wikipedia [2] The Trial of Orenthal James Simpson: An Account (famous-trials.com) [3] O.J. Simpson trial | Summary, Lawyers, Judge, Dates, Verdict, & Facts | Britannica [4] By Staff and wire reports • Published June 16, 2022 • Updated on June 17, 2022 at 11:48 am. Retrieved from: Friday Marks 28 Years Since O.J. Simpson Led Police on Police Chase – NBC Los Angeles [5] DISTURBING DETAILS FOUND IN RON GOLDMAN’S AUTOPSY REPORT, By Alexander Simon, Last visited on: 2’27 PM, 18th June 2023. Retrieved from: Disturbing Details Found In Ron Goldman's Autopsy Report (grunge.com). [6] O.J. Simpson trial: Night of the murders timeline - CNN.com [7] OJ's Statement to the LAPD (famous-trials.com). [8] Ibid. [9] Autopsyfiles.org - Ronald Goldman Autopsy Report [10] The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson: Wigmo analysis | The Lawyers & Jurists (lawyersnjurists.com) [11] The O. J. Simpson Trial: The Jury (umkc.edu) [12] Ibid.