The O.J. Simpson’s case has several compelling truths.
The Blood evidence—according to the forensic experts, the killer had dropped some blood close to the shoe prints discovered at Bundy (Boyes, 2018). The experts further tested the blood and found that it matched with O.J. Simpson’s blood. Similarly, the socks discovered in Simpson’s house had blood matching with Nicole’s. Moreover, Nicole’s blood matched with the blood found in O.J.’s Bronco, driveway, and master bedroom (Boyes, 2018). The blood evidence is compelling because only about 0.6% of the United States populace can match O.J. Simpson’s blood. Additionally, one day after the murder, O.J.simpson’s left hand had fresh cuts. The fresh cuts may have been the source of the blood found at Bundy (Pound, 2018).
Shoe prints evidence—the forensic experts in the investigation found some shoe prints at Bundy. The experts analyzed the shoe print and concluded that it came from a Bruno Magli shoe of approximately size twelve (Foley, 2010). The forensic experts further concluded that a Magli was the most likely source of the bloody shoe imprint discovered on the carpet in O.J.’s Bronco. The Magli shoe has a very outstanding design that is easily detectable. The evidence here is compelling because O.J. coincidentally wore a size twelve shoe (Grant, 2016). Additionally, the probabilities of Simpson leaving matching imprints in his Bronco and at Bundy were very high because he had access to both scenes.
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The 9-1-1 call—Nicole Simpson made a 9-1-1 call to ask for help on that eventful day. According to the 9-1-1, call recordings Nicole desperately asked for help claiming that O.J. Simpson was going to attack her (Boyes, 2018). Nicole’s call evidence is compelling because police testimonies and previous assault pictures demonstrated that O.J. had a history of assaulting her. The call also shows that Nicole knew that O.J. was capable of murder because she desperately called for help fearing for the worst.
The O.J. Simpson case came at the time when Los Angeles was still healing from a 1991 viral video showing the police beating Rodney King, a black taxi driver (Boyes, 2018). The Rodney King incident sparked the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Similarly, O.J. Simpson’s case refreshed the memories of people who saw the L.A police as racists. The fact that majority of people, especially African Americans thought that the Los Angeles police were racists affected the judicial system’s ability to prosecute the case (Boyes, 2018). Firstly, the judicial system had to consider that O.J. Simpson was black and that both victims were white. Consequently, the officer in charge of that case was viewed as racially motivated persons rather than professional law enforcers (Grant, 2016). The Los Angeles police further lost public trust when evidence proved that detective Mark Fuhrman had used racial epithets in the course of his career. Additionally, the fact that the same Mark Fuhrman found the bloody glove put the judicial system in a tight spot (Boyes, 2018).
The second factor affecting the judicial system is the possibility of planted evidence (Grant, 2016). The fact that the case involved one black suspect and two white victims increased the probability of racial motivation. The probability of racial motivation was high considering the Rodney King incident of 1991. Similarly, the Los Angeles police force faced several accusations of falsifying and planting evidence (Grant, 2016). Additionally, detective Fuhrman invoked the Fifth Amendment right when asked if he had falsified evidence in the case. Mark Fuhrman’s option to decline to answer the planted evidence question worsened the situation. The public was now convinced that the Los Angeles Police Department was corrupt and racially motivated. Consequently, the judiciary had to weigh the viable options to take to avoid a scenario like the 1992 riots (Grant, 2016). The judiciary had to think carefully before acting on any police evidence especially after the revelation of detective Fuhrman real character.
Whites and blacks in America have different views about the fairness of the criminal justice system. The blacks believe that the criminal justice system is not fair towards them (Boyes, 2018). Majority of the blacks believe that the United States legal system is unfair towards them whether they are perpetrators or victims. A black person is more likely to get a harsher sentence than a white one for most crimes, including the death penalty (Pound, 2018). Similarly, about six black persons are imprisoned for every single white person imprisoned. Nearly one in every twelve blacks aged between 20-50 years are incarcerated, while the same case applies to only one in every fifty whites in the same age bracket (Foley, 2010). Additionally, blacks believe that the police are more likely to stop and frisk a black man without probable cause compared to a white one. The juvenile system has also treated races differently. According to most blacks, a juvenile court is more likely to send a black minor to prison or send them to an adult court compared to a white minor(Pound,2018). Consequently, blacks form approximately sixty percent of the minors sent to adult prisons.
Conversely, about seventy percent of white Americans believe in the fairness of the criminal justice system compared to only thirty percent of African Americans (Pound, 2018). When it comes to police tactics, seventy-three percent of whites believe that police are not quick to use lethal force. A similar percentage of whites describe the police as being courteous to them. Racial impartiality is another factor where approximately sixty-eight percent of whites believe that their local police force treats all racial groups fairly (Grant, 2016). Additionally, sixty percent of whites believe that their local police are efficient at responding swiftly to a call for help, enforcing the law, and protecting them from all crimes, compared to thirty-seven percent of blacks (Grant, 2016).
Over one thousand reporters covered the O.J. Simpson case that had about ninety percent of American viewers watching the trial. O.J. Simpson’s celebrity status and the court’s embrace for media coverage made the trial a headline for most media outlets (Boyes, 2018). The African-American media reported that the case was racially biased because O.J. Simpson was black. Most of the African-American media stressed the innocence of O.J. Simpson, especially after detective Fuhrman’s recordings of racist comments, were out in public (Pound,2018). These media outlets suggested that the Los Angeles police might have planted evidence against O.J. because they believed the police were racially motivated. The stand of most African-American media outlets also influenced how the defense argued the case. For example, Cochran’s final argument criticized detective Fuhrman and the police for being racially biased. Additionally, the defense attorneys accused detective Fuhrman of planting a glove with O.J.’s blood at the crime scene (Pound, 2018).
Consequently, white media outlets focused on the two victims—who were white—and claimed O.J Simpson was guilty of their murders (Boyes, 2018). Similarly, these media stations focused on Brown's 9-1-1 call and the history of O.J.’s battery to emphasize his guilt. The different versions of media coverage in the O.J. trial divided the citizens of the United States. Most blacks believed the Los Angeles police Framed O.J. while many whites thought that Simpson was solely responsible for the crimes. As a result, the judge had to make a decision based on the lawyers’ arguments and the racial implications of the evidence (Boyes, 2018).
High profile cases should not be televised because the cases will have some flaws. Firstly, lawyers may behave differently when a case is televised (Grant, 2016). Some lawyers may not be used to media coverage, and that may affect their performance. Secondly, media coverage may influence a judge’s ruling in a case. Media coverage may criticize a judge who may then decide to rule against his will to avoid further media criticism and to uphold his reputation (Grant, 2016). Finally, yet importantly, the media may influence public opinion. The media may lead the public to believe the defendant is either guilty or innocent depending on what they decide to air. Consequently, a case may be compelled to follow certain aspects of public opinion to avoid riots (Grant, 2016).
The most important lesson that O.J. Simpson’s trial teaches is that corruption and bias in a police department can affect most criminal cases (Foley, 2010). The police in charge O.J. Simpson case was found to be corrupt and racially biased. Additionally, the glove evidence bore less weight since detective Fuhrman had discovered it. The same detective was found to be racially biased after evidence of his racist language surfaced (Foley, 2010). Similarly, Los Angeles police department had a reputation of racial prejudice, especially from the Rodney King incident. The public doubted the competence of the police force because they believed the police were racially motivated. Detective Fuhrman further chose to remain silent when asked about planting evidence, to avoid self-incrimination. The silent move made him and the police departments look guiltier (Foley, 2010).
A corrupt and biased police force will have most of its evidence discredited in a criminal case. Most defense lawyers will claim that the corrupt police planted the evidence to incriminate the defendant. Similarly, racially biased police force might be discredited in case the defendant belongs to a minority race (Boyes, 2018). A case involving plaintiffs and defendants of different races will be hard to prosecute if the police department is racially motivated. Consequently, it will be hard to convince the jury that the evidence found is genuine (Boyes, 2018). The jury will doubt all witnesses from the corrupt and biased police force despite being the key witnesses to a case. Lack of credibility from police who witnessed the crime scene and evidence will lead to the acquittal of most defendants. Police departments should strive to treat all races equally and at all times (Pound, 2018).
References
Boyes-Watson, C. (2018). Crime and Justice: Learning Through Cases . Rowman & Littlefield.
Foley, M. (2010). Serializing racial subjects: The stagnation and suspense of the OJ Simpson saga. Quarterly Journal of Speech , 96 (1), 69-88.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition . John Wiley & Sons.
Pound, R. (2018). Criminal justice in America . Routledge.
