Legendary running back, illustrious commercial actor and pop culture icon; wife batterer, armed robber, kidnapper and acquitted murderer: Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, maybe the most polarizing figure in American history, passed away, leaving his complicated legacy to be debated. His early life was filled with nothing but success and celebration until Jun. 12, 1994. O.J.’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and the man she was potentially dating, Ron Goldman, were victims of a vicious murder, with O.J. as the key and only suspect.
With this, the country was shocked and watched profoundly as one of the nation’s biggest celebrities was accused of murder. Now, his memory lies with a white Ford Bronco police chase, the murderer’s glove not fitting and a controversial verdict that left people across the United States stunned. Though behind the image he was a man with an abusive nature, the positive outlook O.J. Simpson once had will forever be replaced and remembered by his infamous murder trial.
Starting at the Bronco chase, the country was divided: guilty or not guilty. The NBA Finals were cut off on NBC to show live footage of the chase, grabbing the attention of millions and putting it on Simpson. It did not stop there: the media became involved to the point where much of the trial was compromised. Judge Lance Ito allowed cameras and broadcasting in the courtroom, one of the first times ever this was permitted and setting a precedent in the court industry.
As an effect, people were even more drawn to the case, and Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran and the rest of the “dream team” (O.J.’s defense team) leaned into it. With press conferences, talking to news outlets, and other publicity they fought for a not guilty verdict in the public eye as much as they did in jurors’ eyes. Every argument they made against the prosecution, they doubled down on outside of court. Because of this, the theatrics of Cochran had a greater value as he was trying to persuade millions of people while, despite focusing on the facts—which should be the most important thing in a case—prosecutor Marcia Clark and her case were hurt as they did not look to be performative or win a publicity battle. While the defense painted a negative picture of the prosecution, the media also illegitimatized witnesses who went on T.V. for paid interviews.
The LAPD has a history of systemic racism, which was a point used by Johnnie Cochran and the defense to push the narrative that O.J. was framed. At the time of O.J.’s crime, the LAPD had lost much of the trust of the city after the unjust beating of Rodney King three years earlier. The beating was followed by the acquittals of the officers, leading to the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, where police brutality protests resulted in major violence. This was used as evidence by O.J.’s team to represent the LAPD as a biased organization and assert that the evidence was mishandled, corrupted and set up to convict Simpson, a prominent black figure. Mark Fuhrman, the man who discovered and inspected the crime scene was the one deliberately accused of planting evidence by the defense.
Despite there being no legitimate evidence, Fuhrman lied about using racial slurs on the stand, claiming he did not, but discovered tapes revealed the opposite, which was enough to bring some doubt to the jury about whether he daily and legally gathered the evidence. While “the dream team” showed a line of prejudiced behavior by the LAPD, they provided minimal to no evidence of any setup against the defendant and made all of their claims based on speculation.
If The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpon happened in 2024, I firmly believe that the verdict would be guilty. All evidence pointed against him and there was not even another suspect. Despite this, he won the case for a few reasons. The way the prosecution and the defense attacked the case were very different. The prosecution focused on the evidence and facts of the case. Their main source of linking O.J. to the murders was DNA evidence: the blood in O.J.’s Bronco matched the blood of the crime scene.
However, this was one of the first times DNA was used as the key proof in a criminal case, and the public/jury was unfamiliar with the significance of it and the prosecution failed to understand its importance. Because DNA was not fully appreciated/understood, people bought it when the defense claimed that Fuhrman contaminated it, or at least had reasonable doubt.
Contrary to this, the defense argued that O.J. was framed with their main evidence being that Furhman and the LAPD are racist, and their circular reasoning brought no confusion to the jurors. In short, the prosecution had evidence that people did not understand and the defense had insufficient evidence, yet people understood it. So, the jury sided with what they knew, whether it was correct or not. Also, let’s not forget that the glove did not fit, though that was more for show than it was a concrete piece of evidence.
When discussing the legacy of O.J. Simpson, look at facts and not speculation, unlike his trial. He was a remarkable athlete and a powerful figure, sure, but neither that nor a not-guilty verdict hides that he abused his wife and was found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery. He was not humble and he did not give back. After the verdict, he had a party to celebrate, showing no respect to his murdered wife and Ron Goldman. He authored a book titled “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer” detailing the murders if he did them, again showing no remorse or sympathy to the victims or their families. Along with this, many forgot that he was found guilty in a civil trial, yet never paid the Goldman’s millions that a judge awarded them. So, do not let a compromised verdict and athletic achievement cloud your judgment of the life of crime, abuse and entitlement Orenthal James Simpson lived.
