O.J. Simpson: The Case That Term Paper

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The popularity of the case made celebrities out of the judge, lawyers and criminal justice officials participating in the case. Today, 11 years after the case ended, the debate continues.

Guilty or Not?

Evidence displayed by the prosecution included a genetic match between Simpson's blood and blood found at the crime scene and proof that blood matching both Goldman's and Nicole Simpson's was found in Simpson's Ford Bronco and in his home.

The defense team argued that the blood evidence was either the result of poor police work or had been planted by racist police officers (BBC, 1995). The defense showed tapes of Mark Fuhrman, one of the LAPD officers to search Simpson's house after the murders, using racist terms in a 1994 interview. The defense attorney compared Fuhrman to Adolf Hitler and pleaded with the jury to "do the right thing" and send the police a message about racism with a "not guilty" verdict. The jury delivered the "not guilty" verdict shortly after this plea.

Many opponents of the verdict argue that Simpson bought his freedom with an unbeatable defense team (Reed, 1994). Some blamed the jurors, who acquitted despite being presented with a great deal of evidence of Simpson's guilt (including DNA evidence). Some said they believed Simpson was probably guilty, but that the prosecution messed up the case.

Many proponents of the case argued that African-Americans experienced justice through a common sense of identity forged historically by a minority people rather than by the circumstantial evidence gathered for Simpson's trial (Reed, 1994).

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Many U.S. polls revealed that race does play a role in the public's beliefs (Davis, 1995). Most blacks think he is innocent and most whites think he is guilty. A Newsweek poll showed that 60% of blacks think he is innocent, as opposed to 23% of whites. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll revealed that 60% of blacks think he is innocent and 68% of whites think he is guilty. An ABC News survey showed that 63% of whites said he was guilty and only 22% of blacks said he was guilty.

Conclusion

Simpson, a college football star, has moved on with his life. He was later elected to the pro-football Hall of Fame and is fairly successful in his career. However, his reputation haunts him. Throughout the trial and even now, people around the world have conflicting and strong opinions about whether or not Simpson is guilty (Davis, 1995). Some say he looked guilty and displayed behavior that is commonly associated with abusive husbands and privileged celebrities. However, others truly believe that he is an innocent victim of a racist system.

Regardless of whether Simpson is guilty or innocent, he is a free man. Simpson is protected by U.S. law against "double jeopardy," meaning he cannot be tried twice for the same crime......

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