Getting Away With Murder

O.J. Simpson's recent appearance in court had me thinking about old times. Like, when a hero athlete is done in by love. You know, we have all been there. Losing someone close to your heart and soul. You can't imagine life without them. So, naturally, you viciously murder that loved one, along with an innocent bystander....... Here are the facts in the case: June 12, 1994. O.J. Simpson claimed he was in his Brentwood home waiting for a limousine to take him to Chicago for business. TIMELINE--- 6:30 pm. Nicole Brown Simpson, her children and several other people go to dinner at Mezzaluna restaurant..... 8pm. Nicole and her children leave the restaurant and stop for ice cream on the way home..... 9:15pm. One of Nicole's sister calls the restaurant and says that their mother left some glasses there. Ron Goldman, a waiter and aspiring actor, offers to return the glasses to Nicole's house... 9pm-9:30pm. Kato Kaelin, a friend staying at O.J. Simpson's house, and O.J. decide to go to McDonald's.... 9:45pm. Kaelin and Simpson return to house...... 9:50pm. Ron Goldman leaves the restaurant for Nicole's house to return the glasses....... 10:15pm. Pablo Fenjves, a neighbor of Nicole Simpson, hears the cries and constant barking of a dog...... 10:25pm. Limo driver Allan Park arrives at O.J.'s house to take him to the airport..... 10:40pm. Kaelin hears three loud thumps on the outside wall of his room..... 10:40--10:50pm. Driver Park buzzes intercom several times but gets no answer..... 10:55pm. Park calls his boss and says that Simpson is not home. He is told to wait until 11:15 since Simpson is chronically late...... Shortly before 11pm, Park sees a black person, six-feet, 200 pounds, walking across the driveway towards the house...... 11pm. Kaelin goes to the front of the house to check on the noise. He spots the limo driver at the front of the gate. Seconds later, Park buzzes the intercom again and Simpson responds. He says he had overslept and just got out of the shower..... 11pm--11:15pm. Simpson puts his bags in the limo and limo leaves for airport, where it arrives at 11:35pm.... 11:45pm. Simpson boards the plane headed for Chicago....12:10am, June13, 1994, the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are discovered. Police soon arrive..... At the crime scene, police discover the horror of murder. Blood, lots of blood, has been streaming from both the victims. Nicole Simpson has been so deeply stabbed that her head is almost decapitated. The police notice bloody footprints at the scene. Along with a bloody glove..... In any murder case, the foremost suspect is the spouse. At least, at first. When the case is pieced together, then other potential assailants emerge. But, mostly, police turn to the person most likely to kill. And, in crimes of passion, which this one quickly was determined to be, the husband was instantly a suspect..... For 5 days after the murder, police zeroed in on Simpson. The evidence-- and, his alibi--- led them to believe he did it. On June17, 1994, a warrant was issued for his arrest. And, well, we know the rest, as the entire world followed a man trying to escape...... The evidence eventually presented against him was overwhelming. The bloody glove. The shoe prints at the scene matching identical shoes that O.J. wore. Blood found at the scene contained Simpson's genetic makings. Simpson had a cut on his left middle finger when interviewed by the police the day after the killings. Asmall spot of blood found near driver's outside door handle of Simpson's Ford Bronco. Other blood found smeared inside on console, door, steering wheel, and carpeting. DNA tests showed some of the blood apparently a mixture with genetic markers of Simpson and the victims. And, you also had a man who had a history of domestic violence...... That O.J. Simpson murdered his wife is a foregone conclusion. The evidence was overwhelming. When Simpson's first attorney, Robert Shapiro, took on the case, by his own admission, he knew the only recourse to take to defend him was to put forward some type of plea-bargain. There was no way around O.J.'s guilt. But, there was........ The murders became secondary when high-priced lawyers  Johnny Cochran and F.Lee Bailey joined the Simpson defense team. They must have known that the case was a loser, here was clearly a guilty man. So, they did what any good defense lawyer does when they are behind the eightball: they changed the focus to a hotter topic to divert a jury from the true facts. In this case, they tapped into America's long struggle of racial divide and deep prejudices that rule society. They claimed that O.J. Simpson, prominant athlete and hero to the black community, was unjustly being framed for murder because he was a high-profile black man who was married to an attractive white woman. The defense argued that the long abuses of the black community in Los Angeles were because of the LAPD targeting blacks and using racial discrimination against them. This was a hot topic in 1994 because only two years earlier, several LA cops were acquitted in the famous Rodney King beating, therebye starting the riots in L.A. And, one of the officers at the crime scene in the Simpson case was a veteran cop named Mark Fuhrman, who had a history of using negative racial slurs. All of the history of racial discord was seized upon by the Simpson defense team. And, say what you want about their tactics and exploiting a very real problem among the races, they did their job brilliantly......... I remember when O.J. Simpson was a genuine American Hero. He was exciting as hell to watch play football, with his moves and ability. He may not have been the greatest running back of all time--- that would be Jim Brown----or, have the all-around talent of Walter Payton---- but, O.J. Simpson was a beauty to behold. Off the filed, you had a good-looking, charismatic black man, who appealed to all ethnic groups[ always a most welcome thing]. And, he seemed like a fun guy to be around. The camera loved him, as did the public. Especially, the ladies. The fact that a professional athlete cheats on a wife is a story as old as the beard on the face of Moses. O.J. married young, but, it did not stop his bachelor fun. As the stats in his football career racked up, so, did his way with the women. He swam in the sea of infidelity, which ultimately ended his marriage. But, the public always loved him. He was the perfect pitchman, Many of us remember his ''Hertz'' commercials running through the airport [ ''Go, O.J., Go'']. When his career in sports ended, we still wanted more of him and he turned to sports commentary and flirted with movies. A retired athlete can sometimes be sad to watch as they do not want to give up the spotlight, but, O.J. was always welcome in people's homes....... In 1977, he met Nicole Brown and soon they were married. The marriage produced two children. Even though he was out of the spotlight, he still was a beloved figure. And, from a distance, this marriage seemed quite good. Not marriage or relationship is flawless, as we all know, but, things seemed to be clicking well on the Simpson homefront. We know now that it wasn't. O.J. was apparently beating Nicole on occasion. One famous 911 call to the police came over New Year's in 1989. On the recorded conversation you can hear the fear in the voice of Nicole as her husband is ranting in the background. The police arrived, and, soon, everything settled down. But, the violence was still there, awaiting to spring forth again......... The trial became a three-ringed circus. Media coverage went through the roof, as everyone had an opinion and why. Comedians made fun of the spectacle, as did everyday folks. Jokes about the case became rampant. Also, the lawyers and the victim's families became instant celebrities. You had rumors and fights. The prosecution team of Marcia Clark and Christopher Dardin, in their joy of becoming public figures, botched an easily winnable case. Had they just stuck to the facts in the case they could have brought back a conviction. But, they went, instead, to playing to the audience watching and trying theatrics, such as the bonehead move of having Simpson try on the glove in front of the jury. And, the defense shredded the testimony of Mark Fuhrman by playing up his negative history towards the black communty. Last, but not least, you had a jury that was completely overwhelmed by the difficult evidence that the prosecution was giving them, such as DNA. When a jury is picked for a long trial, it usually is filled with people who are not the cream of the crop in the world. Ask yourself this: can you take 8 months out of your life, away from your job and family, and sit on a murder trial? Of course you cannot. Most of us have lives that we cannot put on hold for that duration. So, lawyers, knowing this, pick and choose people who may be easily led astray and not very bright. That is the problem with the jury system. The wrong twelve people decide the fate of the accused. That is why I have always thought we should have professional, qualified jurors. That would be their job, sitting on a jury. It would be made up of law school attendees, along with law clerks, retired lawyers and judges and police men and women. You stack a jury with people who know the law inside and out and who can easily see when a lawyer is slanting the facts of the case. There would be very little tricks allowed with a professional jury. They would judge a case like it should be: just the facts, ma'am.......  The lengthy trial ended in October, 1995, as O.J. Simpson was found not guilty. I remember watching the verdict in a bar with a co-worker. Most of the bar was white, but, a couple of customers were black. When the verdict was read, the reaction in the bar was sadly similar to the reaction across the country. Whites were stunned, blacks were elated. I remember feeling sick to my stomach for two reasons. One, because an obviously guilty man was set free. Two, because this case showed, once again, how far our culture is from truly understanding each other and getting along with our fellow man and woman. The divide will always be there, I realized. And, I felt horrible about it....... So, O.J. Simpson went free, where he stayed until 2008 when he was convicted on a separate charge of stealing sports items. That is why he is in court now, trying to have his conviction overturned. He probably will still be jailed for several more years, but, you never know with the legal system...... On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered. This was almost lost during the trial and all the madness in this case. From their graves they must have been crying out for justice. Well, maybe, with O.J. being in jail for another crime, justice was served. But, it still does not feel right. A man walked away from murder. Even though he is behind bars, I still have the feeling that Nicole and Ron are still crying out for justice from their graves........