OJ Simpson

[Scarlett]

I am watching a HLN on the trial. After all of these years I just can't wrap my mind around a jury finding him not guilty. I watched nearly every minute of the trial...I still can't believe it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I didn't watch it, but I remember where I was when I heard the verdict.  Everyone seemed pretty stunned by it.

 

 

[kewb]

If I recall correctly, the jurors were sequestered.  Only having the information that was presented at trial is very different from all the information we had on the outside.  I agree that it is difficult to fathom that he was found not guilty.

[redsquirrel]

you might consider reading "The run of his life" by Jeffry Toobin.  Toobin is a great writer, I enjoyed his book about the Supreme Court, and learned so much.  They based the mini-series that was on recently on that book.

 

It is such a multilayered thing, race and class and gender and domestic violence and victim blaming all mixed up and difficult to pick apart. 

 

The LA police didn't handle themselves well, and have a long history of being very racist...The cops being found not guilty of beating Rodney King (which I still cannot believe) and the resulting riots had happened not long before, OJ had a huge amount of money and simply overwhelmed the resources of the prosecution, and when looking at the chain of evidence it does look like the LAPD might have framed a guilty man, the way the judge handled himself in the glare of the spotlight, the way he treated Marcia Clark was terrible and undercut her at every step of the way....Mark Furman...

It was just a hot mess.

 

 

[zoobie]

The FX miniseries that was just on based on Toobin's book was incredible. It showed the jury aspect pretty well even though it was not 100% factual. They were sequestered for almost a year. I can't imagine what they went through!

[clementine]

I read an article on the jury (I think it was a umkc article) and that was pretty interesting.  It helped to explain a bit why the jury might have come in favoring OJ's side.  

 

I am just glad that karma got him later, wondering if he'll get out in 2017.  

[shawthorne44]

My dad likes to watch court cases.   In fact, he'd planned in retirement to actually go watch court cases after he met an old couple doing that while Dad was on a jury.    Now, he watches CourtTV from his chair at home.   I was visiting my folks when the court case that threw him in jail was happening.   That was seriously the best court case ever.   Practically everything was on video.   So, it was like watching one of the crime re-enactment shows except it was the actual people actually doing it.  I remember video of the police investigating in the hotel room and them talking to each other.  I'd think, "no one would actually say that."  Then I'd think, "Well, yes they really did."   

[QueenCat]

I am watching a HLN on the trial. After all of these years I just can't wrap my mind around a jury finding him not guilty. I watched nearly every minute of the trial...I still can't believe it.

 

Me either.......... just don't get it at all.

[Guest]

I think there was enough reasonable doubt in place that it would have been nearly impossible to find him guilty.

That's exactly it - he was guilty of the crime, but the burden of proof for a guilty verdict was arguably not met beyond a reasonable doubt. So we was acquitted of a crime he was most assuredly guilty of. Those protections are in place for a reason but in some cases it can result in guilty men walking and innocent men being incarcerated. I'd like to err on the side of the former to prevent the latter, but it still is a horrible thing for those who have been wronged by the actions of the guilty to not see justice :(

[Katy]

DNA was new then, and to a lot of people this case was more about unfair police profiling than evidence, and the glove didn't fit.  Reasonable doubt galore. 

 

I think you could argue, though, that CSI never would have been the hit it was without that case.

[Guest]

Is he still alive? What's he up to these days?

[3 ladybugs]

I too remember exactly where I was when the verdict was read. I tried to explain it to my son how much people were following it and looking back it was sort of unbelievable. For the record I was in Vermont driving to see the fall foliage (I think.... I know I was in Vermont) and we pulled over to hear the verdict as did the cars in front and behind us. It was like the world stopped for the verdict. 

 

I think the prosecution made mistakes, the judge made mistakes, and probably the defense made mistakes. The defense mistakes didn't matter because of the nature of the prior 2 people/teams making mistakes. It should have been an easy case to try but no one expected the dream team defense. I think that made the prosecution in over their head, and everyone else just sort of got star struck. Honestly I could see the same thing happening today if there was another high profile murder. To me the prosecution should have brought on their own "fame hungry" lawyer to counter balance what was happening on the defense side. 

 

I think the result of the case though did bring to light a big issue of spousal abuse. I don't think anyone turns a blind eye to it like they did prior to 1994 now. Maybe that is just the way I see the world though. 

 

I also think that OJ got the book thrown at him over this weird thing in Vegas that he is in jail for now. I seriously doubt he will get out next year when he comes up for parole because of not the case at hand, but the murder acquittal 21 years ago. 

[Ravin]

Is he still alive? What's he up to these days?

 

He's in prison in Nevada for armed robbery of his own souvenir memorabilia.

[hornblower]

Is he still alive? What's he up to these days?

 

he's in jail. Got convicted of armed robbery & kidnapping in Vegas. This guy has lived a life to fill dozens of books.  

[Guest]

He's in prison in Nevada for armed robbery of his own souvenir memorabilia.

 

LOL really! Geez what an unusual life, all the way around.

[Guest]

he's in jail. Got convicted of armed robbery & kidnapping in Vegas. This guy has lived a life to fill dozens of books.  

 

Kidnapping too! What in the world.

[3 ladybugs]

He is up for parole next year too. He wants to date the Kardashian mom from what I read last. ((rolleyes))

[Guest]

He is up for parole next year too. He wants to date the Kardashian mom from what I read last. ((rolleyes))

 

He was friends with her ex husband, right? The original 3 girl's dad. He was his attorney. I think.

 

eta--it would be a boon for Kanye lyrics, if nothing else :laugh:

Edited May 3, 2016 by OKBud

[hornblower]

He is up for parole next year too. He wants to date the Kardashian mom from what I read last. ((rolleyes))

 

ugh. Didn't one of the Kardashians help him after the murder? 

[Ravin]

ugh. Didn't one of the Kardashians help him after the murder? 

 

Kim Kardashian's previous husband, Robert Kardashian, was one of his attorneys, and his friend with whom he hid out for several days before the "low speed car chase."

[EmseB]

Kim Kardashian's previous husband, Robert Kardashian, was one of his attorneys, and his friend with whom he hid out for several days before the "low speed car chase."

I think it was Kris Jenner's previous husband right? Kim's dad?

[Scarlett]

I think there was enough reasonable doubt in place that it would have been nearly impossible to find him guilty.

 

 

Did you watch the trial?

[redsquirrel]

Kardshian was played by David Schwimmer in the mini-series.

 

This is a 'where are they now" slide show. You have to click on the tiny 'read more' to get a window to slide up and give you more info.

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2014/05/oj-simpson-murder-trial-where-are-they-now#1

 

I thought the miniseries was really good. There were some really stand out actors in there. John Travolta nailed Robert Shapiro, and the actor who played Johnny Cochran was fantastic. I should look up his name b/c I will try to watch more of his stuff, and the people who played Marcia Clark and Chris Darden were great as well.

[3 ladybugs]

Kardshian was played by David Schwimmer in the mini-series.

 

This is a 'where are they now" slide show. You have to click on the tiny 'read more' to get a window to slide up and give you more info.

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2014/05/oj-simpson-murder-trial-where-are-they-now#1

 

I thought the miniseries was really good. There were some really stand out actors in there. John Travolta nailed Robert Shapiro, and the actor who played Johnny Cochran was fantastic. I should look up his name b/c I will try to watch more of his stuff, and the people who played Marcia Clark and Chris Darden were great as well.

 

Really? I thought Travolta was too big for the roll. Shapiro is tiny and Travolta isn't (physically speaking). So it was hard for me to watch. The rest of the cast was good for me though. 

[Tanaqui]

As I remember - and take this with a grain of salt, because I was only in the 5th grade - the prosecution screwed it up so bad, and in such a racist way, that they effectively scuttled their entire case.

 

He's in prison now anyway for other crimes. Interestingly, to my knowledge, nobody has tried to claim he's suffering from CTE, and that's highly plausible. Maybe I'm wrong, though. Maybe there's whole teams of forensic pathologists and other specialists and interested amateurs just slavering for the chance to get a crack at his brain.

 

*thinks*

 

I should google this. Oh, hey, I was wrong - some people are speculating about this possibility!

[Just Kate]

Anyone know of a way to watch the mini series now? I don't think it is available on Hulu Plus. I would love to watch it.

[Scarlett]

Didn't most of America? (LOL)

 

 

Yes if they were old enough.  :)  I don't know how old you are.

 

I watched every. single. minute of it.  And I felt it was definitely proven enough for a conviction.  It was the first time in my life I really understood that race could affect people so deeply that they really just could not make good decisions.  

 

I consider myself very non racist. (as if I would admit if I were racist but whatever)....I remember we took a small tv to the conference room where we hovered over it to watch the verdict.  My co-worker....a white woman my age who has 2 children with a black man....was laughing at the verdict.  And she was....tickled..for lack of a better word, by my shock at the verdict.  

[3 ladybugs]

As I remember - and take this with a grain of salt, because I was only in the 5th grade - the prosecution screwed it up so bad, and in such a racist way, that they effectively scuttled their entire case.

 

He's in prison now anyway for other crimes. Interestingly, to my knowledge, nobody has tried to claim he's suffering from CTE, and that's highly plausible. Maybe I'm wrong, though. Maybe there's whole teams of forensic pathologists and other specialists and interested amateurs just slavering for the chance to get a crack at his brain.

 

*thinks*

 

I should google this. Oh, hey, I was wrong - some people are speculating about this possibility!

I thought you couldn't be diagnosed with that and be alive? That they needed to dissect your brain to find the disease. 

 

He probably does have it but we will not know till he is gone. Even so, it doesn't excuse what he has done. Others have had that and didn't do what he did. 

[sassenach]

Kardshian was played by David Schwimmer in the mini-series.

 

This is a 'where are they now" slide show. You have to click on the tiny 'read more' to get a window to slide up and give you more info.

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2014/05/oj-simpson-murder-trial-where-are-they-now#1

 

I thought the miniseries was really good. There were some really stand out actors in there. John Travolta nailed Robert Shapiro, and the actor who played Johnny Cochran was fantastic. I should look up his name b/c I will try to watch more of his stuff, and the people who played Marcia Clark and Chris Darden were great as well.

That was a great series. The acting was superb. The actress who played Marcia Clark was particularly great.

 

 It was very interesting, because dh and I were both in high school in LA when this trial happened. Dh was running with a lot of Mexican gangsters at the time, and he was describing the general feeling in the minority community to me. I am a white girl whose father's business was destroyed in the LA riots. Our perspectives and what that trial meant to us at that time in our lives was pretty much flip opposite. It was a total trip to relive it through the series.

 

After watching the series, I can understand why they found him not guilty. In the end, I really think Judge Ito was hugely responsible for how mishandled the trial was. The prosecution made some major missteps, and Johnny Cochran was a master at defense. He was guilty as hell, but they just didn't prove it.

[Scarlett]

That was a great series. The acting was superb. The actress who played Marcia Clark was particularly great.

 

 It was very interesting, because dh and I were both in high school in LA when this trial happened. Dh was running with a lot of Mexican gangsters at the time, and he was describing the general feeling in the minority community to me. I am a white girl whose father's business was destroyed in the LA riots. Our perspectives and what that trial meant to us at that time in our lives was pretty much flip opposite. It was a total trip to relive it through the series.

 

After watching the series, I can understand why they found him not guilty. In the end, I really think Judge Ito was hugely responsible for how mishandled the trial was. The prosecution made some major missteps, and Johnny Cochran was a master at defense. He was guilty as hell, but they just didn't prove it.

 

 

It has been a long time since I watched the trial, but I do remember thinking that Ito was not handling it well.

[Scarlett]

One thing I've been wondering about lately is did he go there to kill her?  I always thought he did, but then I thought maybe he just routinely spied on her and when he found Ron Goldman there he just went totally psycho.  I still go back to the fact that he had a plan to be out of state when the bodies were found, so yeah he probably intended to kill her from the beginning.  Hours earlier he had been at a recital for one of their kids (I think) and on video camera he looked cool as a cucumber.  Cold as ice killing just a few hours later.

[sassenach]

It has been a long time since I watched the trial, but I do remember thinking that Ito was not handling it well.

You might really find the mini-series to be compelling. I can't say that I enjoyed it in the traditional tv watching sense; it was like watching a slow motion train wreck. However, it was completely engrossing.

[Scarlett]

You might really find the mini-series to be compelling. I can't say that I enjoyed it in the traditional tv watching sense; it was like watching a slow motion train wreck. However, it was completely engrossing.

 

I wonder if it is on Netflix?  Does anyone know the name of it?

[Tanaqui]

I thought you couldn't be diagnosed with that and be alive? That they needed to dissect your brain to find the disease.

 

Yeah, you have to be dead, but we can still speculate.

 

[redsquirrel]

Oh, yes, Travolta is larger than Shapiro, but I was so impressed by his general demeanor and speech patterns etc.

 

Sometimes Travolta reminds me that he is very good actor, this was one of those times.

[poppy]

I wonder if it is on Netflix?  Does anyone know the name of it?

 

The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.

It is not on Netflix, it maybe even still be in reruns on FX.

[DawnM]

I was a teacher in Los Angeles when the verdict was read.  All the TVs were checked out but I had my radio in the classroom (high school)

 

I don't remember what class it was, but we all sat around with baited breath!

[OnTheBrink]

I wonder if it is on Netflix?  Does anyone know the name of it?

 

 

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-people-v-oj-simpson-american-crime-story/episodes

 

Looks like the episodes expire in 7 days. I'd plan on a binge-watch this weekend. LOL

[Caroline]

I was also on bedrest, but with a single, not twins.

 

I watched the whole trial. I do not think the prosecution proved their case. I think the LAPD screwed up the chain of evidence. I think what the trial really showed was what money could buy. The defense team was incredible.

 

I wonder about the idea that Kris Jenner will be dating OJ. Nicole was one of her best friends. They were supposed to have lunch the day after Nicole was murdered. She came to the trial and sat with Nicole's family.

 

I was married with a couple kids. And yes, I too was shocked that he got off because it seemed so obvious that he did it. However, when looking into it further, I can understand why the jury decided the way they did.

 

Eta: Correction, I was pregnant with twins at the time, nearly ready to become a mom. I was on bedrest at the time.

[Just Kate]

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-people-v-oj-simpson-american-crime-story/episodes

 

Looks like the episodes expire in 7 days. I'd plan on a binge-watch this weekend. LOL

Thanks!!!

[Mimm]

I was a teenager when the trial happened and I didn't watch it but I followed it a bit. It was one of those things you couldn't really get away from hearing about at the time. I remember where I was when the verdict was read. My mom and I were in a McDonald's parking lot waiting for the news to come out before going inside. We were shocked. I remember seeing coverage later and they were showing various crowds gathering (where? no idea) to hear it and how they reacted, and this woman cheered the verdict and said, "Now they can go catch the real killer!" I wondered if she was really that stupid. :p

[Vida Winter]

It was that stupid glove.

 

[Scarlett]

If I recall correctly, the jurors were sequestered. Only having the information that was presented at trial is very different from all the information we had on the outside. I agree that it is difficult to fathom that he was found not guilty.

I could maybe see that the jurists didn't have enough to convict. But they eventually got to see everything just like us....and at least some of the jurists still say they believe he was innocent.

[ashfern]

The first mistake was the judge allowing the trial to be televised. The defense made the prosecution look like idiots. The two prosecution lawyers. Clark & Darden, hated each other. Cochran goaded them into having Simpson try on that glove. I never realized how good an actor he was. It was ridiculous! I was working so only watched the highlights on Court TV at night. 

[Scarlett]

The first mistake was the judge allowing the trial to be televised. The defense made the prosecution look like idiots. The two prosecution lawyers. Clark & Darden, hated each other. Cochran goaded them into having Simpson try on that glove. I never realized how good an actor he was. It was ridiculous! I was working so only watched the highlights on Court TV at night.

Clark and Darden hated each other?

 

I heard recently they probably had an affair.

[Tanaqui]

Clark and Darden hated each other?

 

I heard recently they probably had an affair.

 

Those two sentences are not mutually exclusive.

[Scarlett]

Those two sentences are not mutually exclusive.

Lol...so true.

[poppy]

I was a teenager when the trial happened and I didn't watch it but I followed it a bit. It was one of those things you couldn't really get away from hearing about at the time. I remember where I was when the verdict was read. My mom and I were in a McDonald's parking lot waiting for the news to come out before going inside. We were shocked. I remember seeing coverage later and they were showing various crowds gathering (where? no idea) to hear it and how they reacted, and this woman cheered the verdict and said, "Now they can go catch the real killer!" I wondered if she was really that stupid. :p

 

I remember being stunned by both the verdict AND by the fact that there were so many people cheering the verdict.  Rocked my world.

But I honestly do not think most people who cheered that verdict actually believed he was innocent. It was always more about not trusting the LAPD to investigate honestly.   Which is..... kind of fair.  To this day the lead investigator blames chain of custody issues for the verdict.

 

I will say this, tried to watch The Naked Gun last year, can't do it.   I see OJ, my mind goes straight to the image of a man stabbing his wife.

Edited May 4, 2016 by poppy

[shawthorne44]

One thing I've been wondering about lately is did he go there to kill her?  I always thought he did, but then I thought maybe he just routinely spied on her and when he found Ron Goldman there he just went totally psycho.  I still go back to the fact that he had a plan to be out of state when the bodies were found, so yeah he probably intended to kill her from the beginning.  Hours earlier he had been at a recital for one of their kids (I think) and on video camera he looked cool as a cucumber.  Cold as ice killing just a few hours later.

 

When they were married he would sometimes lock her in a closet then open the door to beat the .... out of her and then lock her in again.   Or was it kick?   So, killing her in a rage wasn't a stretch.  

[Joules]

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-people-v-oj-simpson-american-crime-story/episodes

 

Looks like the episodes expire in 7 days. I'd plan on a binge-watch this weekend. LOL

 

I didn't know they did a TV show.  I'll try to watch a bit.  

 

I watched a good bit of the trial when I was in grad school.  I was up to study at 4am and then had morning classes.  I was worn out by early afternoon and since I'm on the east coast that's when it started each day.  So I did housework, mindless stuff, and rode the exercise bike while watching the trial and then had a night class to teach about the time it was over.  I learned so much about the court system that I never knew that year.