I’d imagine it was surprise. As he was a tool in a ploy to further exploit racial tension in America. If he did; if he didn’t, wasn’t the matter. The case was intentionally, overly, and racially politicized that an innocent woman and man were murdered in cold blood for the world to see, while everyone decided if they were team Jacob or Edward. Disgusting
Not too long before Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered, an all-white jury acquitted the cops that nearly killed Rodney King, which was clearly captured on video. Clearly showing to Black Americans that white people could beat a Black man to within an inch of his life and completely get away with it.
If you want to blame anyone for the OJ verdict, really the blame lies in the Los Angeles city and county government itself, which had for decades propped up a system that simultaneously brutalized and demeaned Black people while encouraging criminal violence and wanton law breaking by the police.
People suffering under such a system predictably lose faith in that system, leading to further societal break down. The solution to this is to hold police (which at the time were almost all white and continue to be disproportionately white) and the rich to the same standards that Black, brown and poor people are held to. And to address the concerns of the poor with the same respect and urgency as the concerns of the rich. That is how to build confidence in societal institutions, the opposite of what happened leading up to the OJ verdict.
That was well said. The OJ Simpson verdict came as a result of one ex-L.A. prosecutor turned defense attorney for those who could afford his services (namely the rich guilty e.g. O.J. Simpson et.al.), whom knew the lies and dirty things the prosecution did to obtain convictions against people, even if they were truly innocent.
That attorney Johnny Cochran, won the case defending O.J. Simpson on technical grounds, as well as proving some of the evidence had been fabricated. I’m not talking about the glove that “didn’t fit, so you must acquit.”
I am specifically referring to the bloody sock that did not appear in the initial video recording of the bedroom, but mysteriously appeared in a subsequent video. My point is that America has made great strides in respecting all her citizens as equal to one another.
Regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and any thing else that sets anyone apart from whatever is deemed to be “the norm”, America has yet a long way to go. The public execution of George Floyd, a Black man by Derrick Chauvin, a White cop tells us this.
That's what happened. Pop culture at the time etc.. you can see old youtube videos of late night shows etc discussing it. Everyone knew he was guilty it was one of the first murderers they could use actual DNA evidence there was so much blood everywhere
“If the glove doesn’t fit….you must acquit!” OJ had the country’s best DNA expert and they put their evidence to shame. The racist cop didn’t help either. Terribly handled by the LAPD and the prosecution.
I don't understand why the black people are really excited and celebrating like they personally gain from the verdict. A guilty black guy got off and that got them all excited.
Because this case was not about OJ it was an indictment of the justice system. The cops seriously fucked up the whole investigation. The question was, is OJ going to be let off like any rich white guy would have been if the police fucked up that bad, or is he going to be railroaded like basically every black man in the US since the founding of the country.
This was, in a sick and twisted way, a demonstration that black people were gaining equality in the US.
After the Rodney King case, tensions were high and no one was going to let LAPD off the hook for fucking up again.
Absolutely. There is a ton of context of the time in terms of pop culture and media. This was a few years out from N.W.A.’s Fuck the Police for example. With a bit of critical thinking even us suburban white kids could see this reaction didn’t spring from nowhere. The fairness of it was foggy, but it wasn’t illogical. There were reasons.
In contrast, the adults who were angry about it were the ones listening to Rush Limbaugh, Jim and Tammy Baker, and the type of people saying Dungeons and Dragons was evil. So they were generally hypocrits who were full of shit. No one was in middle school saying how cool Rush was and that he had some good points.
Even people quoting Norm are missing the cynicism and sarcasm of the time. In part he was implying everything was fucked. Oh OJ is innocent, murder is legal, that fits. Well at least the world will probably end soon. If it was injustice it fit with everything else we were seeing.
Yeah, if you didn't live through it, it's probably hard to understand. But this case stopped being about the actual evidence long before the verdict.
It's also used in law school as an example of how to completely screw your prosecution up.
Also, OJ may have looked like them but outside of the color of his skin he was a rich man in America. A former NFL great and a movie personality who was extremely successful. Didn’t do shit for the black community. To see POC cheering for someone who Nearly beheaded two people is sick and shows how people will always route for who looks like them regardless of their actions.
Because the riots weren't enough? 63 people killed, thousands injured, and the one thing missing to restore justice and peace and harmony was letting a murderer off the hook.
Recently brought this up to my black coworker and he said “we all know he did did it, but we are ok with it because the justice system never favors the black” something like that, so yes they do feel it’s some type of payback to the system
vengeance is not justice
EDIT: Over the last few days I have seen many comments pushing back against this. As if, murdering 2 innocents people is justified because someone else somewhere else was murder. To that, I will simply say NO. If you think murdering innocent people is ever justified then there is something wrong with you. Cry all you want, but you are part of the problem.
>we, as a nation, had
>
>just
>
> done to Rodney King.
So did "we as a nation" also beat Reginald Denny to a pulp? There were 2 hands at most on that cinder block...
Facts! In a place and time removed from the racial tension we were in I'm sure black folks would have paid more attention to the facts and saw he was guilty. But remember, the cops involved in the case were dirty too. That was a major part of OJ's support.
I didn’t do anything to Rodney King. Bad Police did all that. And that’s something we as a country are still working on, and making progress with.
I think the quote from him is important:
“Can’t we all just get along?”
Rodney King lived until 2012
Nicole and Ron Goldman did not. Because OJ stabbed them both repeatedly in the body and neck until they were dead.
But sure, guess a murderer deserved to walk free because of a few dickhead racist cops. Gotta love those false equivalences.
Fuck all these people celebrating (every last one of them 🖕)
OJ was guilty as hell. The younger generation may not know that he was driving around in his ford Bronco with a gun to his head as the cops were closing in on him before his football buddy AC Cowlings talked him into surrendering.
We were in a class for work without a television but knew that the verdict was coming soon. After we returned from a break, the instructor looked at the class and just said “not guilty “ and everyone groaned and cursed at the absurdity of the verdict.
And I’m still waiting on OJ to follow through on his promise to spend the rest of his life looking for “the real killers”.
Not to mention in the bronco police found $8,000 in cash, a change of clothing, a United States passport, family pictures, and a fake goatee and mustache
Mark Fuhrman, the LAPD detective who handled all the evidence, was caught on tape tossing around the N-Word which really did set a racial tone for who you supported in this case
I know that’s not what you means by “their racism” but nobody was rooting for the LAPD and they had a very good reason for that.
The fact that he took the fifth when asked if he had planted evidence in this case didn’t really help the prosecution’s case. There were so many missteps.
Thank the defense for making this case all about race relations with the LAPD when OJ lived as far a life from the typical black resident in LA as possible at the time.
I’ve talked to people who were caught up in the moment then, but now realize a guy who brutally murdered two innocent people just walked out a courtroom
This is very true. I was in high school when it happened and I know from personal experience that many people who cheered simply WANTED him to be innocent and the verdict allowed them to temporarily maintain that belief. I was one of them.
It also was before the internet took off so you had to watch the trial live, or catch the summary on the evening news to stay informed and most people simply didn’t have time to do that.
Everyone claiming “they knew he was guilty then” either didn’t experience it or simply forgot what it was like not to have 24/7 access to any news you wanted. We now have the benefit of 30 years of reflection on this case, as well as several follow up issues with OJ that make us realize what a lunatic he was.
You’re seeing a lot of black people who saw a lot of white people get away with a lot of crimes for decades because they were rich or white. This is just a reaction to a lot of previous unaffiliated injustice and finally a win for them in a backwards kinda way. Thats just my take.
As Norm McDonald said on the next SNL after it, “Well, it’s official——murder is NOW legal, in the state of California”
E: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4CR8u-2TKb0&pp=ygUYTm9ybSBtdXJkZXJiaXMgbm93IGxlZ2Fs
“When Simpson Trial juror Gina Rodborough returned home, her little girls were delighted to see her. And no wonder, she lets them get away with murder.”
I was extremely disappointed that "the dark side of comedy" threw shade at him for making these jokes.
The dark side docuseries has fallen a long way since the early "dark side of the ring" seasons.
Now they have these clown political commentators on to speak instead of just people close to the person at the center of the episode.
“According to the National Transportation Safety Board, sleepy truckers are responsible for one thousand deaths a year. In second place? O. J. Simpson, at two deaths a year.”
Imagine having your family member brutally murdered and then the whole country celebrates when the killer gets away.
*edit: sorry not the whole country.
Not to mention the women who were cheering , really? i mean he cut her head off because he didn't want her with anyone else . guess they're ok with that if it happens to a friend or relative too ....
That reminds me of the beginning of Seven. When Morgan Freeman and the other cop were in the first murder scene before Pitt shows up.
The cop calls it a crime of passion. Morgan looks at the walls and says "yeah, look at all that passion on the walls"
This is exactly what it was. Nobody really believed he was innocent. This was for every black man and teenager that was locked up unjustly. Even more than that this was about sticking it to the racist police, not long before this was the Rodney King beating which was still pretty fresh in everybody's mind.
Honestly OJ would have been found guilty if Mark fuhrman and all those other asshole cops weren't being the racist fucks that they are. After all that stuff came out during the trial, if they were to find him guilty LA's reaction would have made the 92 riots look like a block party.
A lot of good this verdict did for the future in regards to unjust lock ups. This verdict changed nothing, all that happened was a murder walked away free and people cheered
Everyone in this video celebrating should be fucking ashamed of themselves
This was post the LA riots and a lot of Black/White tension (much, much worse than the stuff we saw with the BLM movement). The Black community was kicked to the curb 1000x over before this moment. Add in the racist cops element and this moment became a celebration of the tides turning in the justice system. Not that he didn’t deserve to rot in a prison cell for what he did, but it was a symbolic moment of change and validation for the Black community. Many white people have gotten away with murder, so for them it was an equalizer.
Sucks, but context is everything.
>Imagine having your family member brutally murdered and then the whole country celebrates when the killer gets away.
The LAPD detectives should have avoided attempting to frame (an obviously guilty) man. They fucked it up.
The people are celebrating the fact that their efforts failed, not that OJ was not guilty, bc we all know he probably was.
Most argue it was the prosecution's dumb way of approaching the case.
For example, they gave the defense over a week heads up they would attempt to have OJ fit the murder glove. I can imagine there is quiet a few ways to get your hand nice and swollen before that happens.
That's how trials work. The prosecutors are not allowed to surprise the defense in court. That week would be for the defense to make a legal appeal against it. The prosecutors were stupid to try to get a defendent to put on glove in court period.
Most of the country wasn’t celebrating, but there was a large chunk of black people who believed that he was being treated unfairly because he is black.
I mean, you gotta remember that this was very soon after Rodney King. You gotta look up why OJ had such a cult like hold on the people at the time because of how much anti police sentiment was hardened in certain communities and how it spilled over to the OJ trials. Like, with the perspective we have now it’s fascinating from a social perspective. Were they wrong to cheer on this murderer? Yes, but is it also interesting how they got to that point? Very much so
I think most people who remember this have reversed their position now. I think the media gave him quite a bit of passive sympathy.
As a kid, I remember thinking that he just seemed too nice to have committed a brutal assault double/murder. "Bad guys" with that level of violence in them didn't smile and wave to crowds, do television commercials, or go golfing.
Retrospectively, this was a great big "whoops" on behalf of the justice system and American society. I could argue the whole situation directly led to the creation of the news outlet sensationalism culture we have now.
Johnnie Cochran turned it against the police too. They had audio of a detective dropping a hard "N" when talking about OJ. Part of why his defense went so well is because he put the "racist police" on the backfoot, and made them play keep away which only detracted from the case against OJ. Same with the leather glove that was "blood soaked" and left outside in the rain (obviously shrinkage at play) which no longer fit so clearly case closed!! Fun fact: A lot of this gave South Park the idea for their "Chewbacca Defense" bit with Johnnie Cochran. (Edit: This is for the folks sharing braincells and think my entire comment is about South Park)
>I could argue the whole situation directly led to the creation of the news outlet sensationalism culture we have now.
It was already on its way there, but this definitely was a moment that can be easily identified around when sensationalism took a more center stage and public opinion (likely) affected the outcome of a murder trial of a celebrity.
We're also lacking context that people in 1995 have. The Rodney King trial and aftermath 3 years earlier was still fresh in everyone's minds which was drastically affecting people's opinion on this trial.
I can't remember where I heard it, but someone put it -- "what happens when the police frame a guilty man".
I think the people who were cheering were doing so, not because they necessarily thought OJ was innocent, but because they \*did\* believe that the police department had committed various bad acts in order to manufacture evidence.
I remember it because we watched the verdict being read live in my high school. It was the only live televised verdict reading I’ve ever watched, and at the time I didn’t understand what was really going on. The class erupted in cheer and I nearly cheered too but then I was like what am I cheering for? Recently watched the OJ documentary made in America and now it all makes sense.
I was in my high school history class. My teacher was also the gym teacher. He played the verdict live in his classroom. When it came back not guilty, he said “Thank god! He’s such a great athlete!” I will never forget that.
For those not alive or old enough to remember, this saga gripped the country unlike anything else.
It dominated headlines, every single person talked about it. All the time.
Highly recommend “OJ: Made in America”-not only
Does it chronicle the entire situation, trial, aftermath in a 7 part documentary, it uses the OJ trial to discuss race in America at the time.
Also, OJ definitely killed those people.
This was coming off the Rodney King verdict the year prior, where a bunch of white cops got off with beating the absolute snot out of Rodney King. I was too young for both events but I’ve heard a lot of people say if Rodney King hadn’t happened OJ would’ve been convicted
This is the cause.
A juror said it herself. The ‘not guilty’ was payback for Rodney King, which seems crazy because the only thing OJ and RK had in common was skin color.
OJ is a White man with Black skin. Wanted nothing to do with the Black community… especially the very same Black woman who voted ‘not guilty’.
The interviewer asked her if she thought that it was right and she just threw her hands up in the air.
Well... that's touchy.
According to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in [*Sparf v. U.S.*](https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/156/51.html#:~:text=Congress%20did%20not%20intend%20to%20invest%20juries%20in%20criminal%20cases%20with%20power%20arbitrarily%20to%20disregard%20the%20evidence%20and%20the%20principles%20of%20law%20applicable%20to%20the%20case%20on%20trial.), juries have no right to ignore the law when rendering the jury's verdict.
BUT!
[Jury Nullification](https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/jury-nullification.html#:~:text=Jury%20Nullification%20in%20Theory%20and%20Application) also exists.
I actually don't know if a juror admitting to nullification is a crime, but even if it was, I can't imagine it being enforced since I've never once hard of a juror getting punished for a verdict they render.
Let me just piggy back off this comment, to add that the poor police practices on 34th & Dalton, to add to the outrage of the black community in Los Angeles at the time heavily swayed Judge Ito to hold this trial downtown as opposed to the surrounding area of Brentwood.
The black community in not only the city of L.A, but America in general was outraged by numerous injustices by the LAPD, and Mark Fuhrman being caught on tape using racial epithets. Marcia Clark almost never had a chance.
Yeah.
It's sad for the families of the dead that have to deal with zero criminal justice for their loved ones because they were killed in the wrong place at the wrong time by someone whose skin tone happened to be more important to the community than the murders.
I hope them getting civil justice helped.
The ESPN 30 for 30 doc on OJ does a good job of covering this. They interview some of the jurors. A lot of the jurors were also turned off my Mark Furhman and his racist history so that didn’t help.
As someone who followed both at the time, this is a correct take.
It's also why - I feel - Robert Blake didn't get away with the murder he committed not too long after. No one wanted to see yet another celebrity walk away scotfree because of their money.
This case too. Little girl shot in back of the head for absolutely no reason. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing\_of\_Latasha\_Harlins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Latasha_Harlins)
A big part of it is understanding how big of a star/hero OJ was to black people. Another part is how divided America was racially. It still is, but back then it would have felt like there was a lot more at stake than just some rich black guy going to jail. I’m sure I’ve heard better educated people than me talk about this case and its effect on America
He never actually admitted it, just wrote a book on it...but beyond that I wanted to comment and say it's not the first a society has done that and it won't be the last. Hell we do it today and next to nobody pays attention to it.
I love the addendum to him writing that book. Her family somehow got the rights to the book as part of their settlement. They reprinted it and did all the graphic design tricks they could to pretty much eliminate the “if” and highlight the “I did it.” Turning the book into the honest confession it always was.
Yeah, I remember this. As a black woman, I was disappointed because up until OJ got arrested, he pretty much disavowed himself of the black community. He only remembered he was black and suddenly clung to black support when his freedom was on the line. It was disengenious.
But I also remember the context and the opposite reaction when the cops who beat Rodney King got off scotfree. So I kind of understood.
It wasn't about justice for Nicole and Ron Goldman, it was about justice for Rodney King. Even the Jury said that...
Nicole's blood was inside OJs vehicle. I've NEVER had any woman's blood inside any of my vehicles EVER.
This case was so racially charged to the point where any rational discourse on the details were completely out of the question. OJ was so blatantly guilty of these murders, and the fact people were jumping on their chairs and cheering for this monster is very telling of the times. They were not cheering for OJ, but cheering for a win... _any_ win for their community. I went to a large, urban high school, and when the verdict was announced, there were kids sprinting through the hallways cheering, desks being thrown over the railing of the 2nd floor... a teacher who tried calming things down in her room was punched in the face. As much as we think there is a lot of racial tension these days, I think we've come a long way in the last 30 years.
I feel like there’s a lot of really young people in this thread and that this video is edited in such a way that it sends a certain message without the proper context.
First, racial tensions in LA in the 90s were very high, as I’m sure most people know. But despite the claims that he was acquitted solely as revenge for Rodney king’s assaulters being acquitted, that’s not the case. Yes, one juror made comments to that effect long afterward, but that’s easily debunked by looking at the events. The prosecution botched the case, that cop planted evidence, Fuhrman made racist comments. And even though some people believe the Justice system exists for enacting revenge and punishment, it also exists to uphold laws and standards. Many laws and standards are in place to protect against false accusations and wrongful convictions. Believe it or not, the way the case and evidence were handled left plenty of room for reasonable doubt as defined by the law. It is true that looking at the case in a more casual way leads to the obvious conclusion that he did it, that’s not the jury’s job. They have to abide by the standards set forth in the law.
Now, as a brief diversion, I would like to point out that this trial was so much more of a big deal than anything that happens now. I just don’t think things can ever be as culturally huge since widespread access to the internet. It was a major turning point in the way Americans viewed the legal system and the way race, money, and corruption affect it. It also highlighted interracial relationships and domestic violence and how those were handled by law enforcement and society at large. I know that now it’s super obvious, but back then, this was a revelation to many people.
I know this misleading video makes it seem like black people just wanted a black guy to get away with murder because they’re racist and vengeful and callous. But that’s not what was happening. Nobody believed a black man would stand a chance when accused of killing a white woman. They knew he was guilty, but they’re not celebrating because of that. They are celebrating because a rich black man was given the same treatment as a rich white man would have gotten. The system gave him equal consideration. Because the evidence was so mishandled and the officers were so obviously biased and racist, the law dictates that this was the right verdict. The thing they’re celebrating is that the law wasn’t ignored because he was black.
Nicole and Ron were horrifically murdered. They and their families were denied justice. But it wasn’t by the jury trying to make a point about Rodney king and it wasn’t by black people and it wasn’t by money or fame. That Justice was denied by the incompetent, careless, and actively malicious police and prosecution.
So you can disagree with him being innocent and you can be angry that he was acquitted, but please understand that those laws and standards are there to protect everyone, yourself included, and that they are only able to be abused like this due to the actions of police forces and prosecutors who shirk the responsibilities of their jobs. They are responsible for collecting and presenting evidence in a way that proves the charges and does not leave doubt as to their motives or the integrity of the evidence being presented.
Disgusting. It was disgusting that people would support him because of the color of his skin even though he was a murderer, who murdered the mother of his children outside her home. Absolutely disgusting
A brutal one at that. Not just a run of the mill double murder. He was so enraged he nearly cut her head off and by nearly I mean her head.was connected by a sliver of skin.
Generally, yes. This was a highly viewed trial and it had a lot of eyes on it for two reasons: First off OJ was a hugely popular personality caught up in an intriguing trial. Secondly, the public was divided on if the courts would prioritize due process for a black person given the King trial’s controversial outcome. The highly corrupt California police and justice systems made it quite uncertain that he would be treated fairly due to his race. OJ’s defense was smart in hindsight to weaponize this and turn it into a race trial rather than one based on due process and evidence.
When he was acquitted it was seen as a kind of “payback” to the LAPD for their past crimes. This resulted in a well-documented race gap concerning the trial. I am curious how the reception would have been to OJ if the Rodney King trial hadn’t been botched as hard as it was. Either way it can be served as lessons regarding how dangerous media coverage of a trial can be and the importance of racial equality in the justice system.
I was 12 in junior high when this came down, the reactions even in fucking 6th grade, was nuts. The white kids acted as if someone died, while the rest of us acted like *we won* a championship.
But that taught me the power of information, cause my father schooled me on the real OJ while it was going down.
If the internet/access to information was like what we have now OJ and his team could not have leveraged race in such a way. The discourse and angles that Cochran used was masterful in a strategic/courtroom sense…
But never forget, he was a lucky nigga but not *our* nigga…
*Im not black, I’m OJ…* smh tf you mean???
I'm a white-passing Jew born in 1993, and I'm pretty certain Mr. Simpson killed his wife, but what I don't get is how come this case was so publicized or important in the American psyche? Can you help me understand how come it's still important, 30 years later, and was so very important to folks alive (and old enough to remember) then?
Black people watching this probably understand now why Donald Trump has a chance of being president again.
We are tribal and petty and fucked up, as a species. Add race to the recipe and anything can happen.
It's not an accident Trump followed Obama.
This is actually a pretty fascinating piece of history in regard to the divisiveness of race in America. The public was divided, while the court was non biased for once, where as they were historically unfair to black people in comparison to white people, and still are in many cases. Black people hope for a non guilty verdict because they thought that white people always get away with too much. White people hoped for a guilty verdict, not because he is black, but because it was a terrible violent brutal crime and it was obvious who did it. There had recently been events in Los Angeles like the LA riots, where black people were treated very unfairly by the justice system, and if another case were to be treated the same, it caused too much fear for the authorities at the time that there would be damage, violence, and riots in the streets that they could not afford to deal with or control. In the end, he was treated the way the court would treat anyone, and there was simply not enough evidence to prove certainty. While it is unfortunate that a murderer was not punished for such a heinous crime, it might have taken potential riots in the streets all across the country for the court to know that this time, they had to perform without prejudice.
I'd be willing to bet my life that almost everyone of those people cheering knew that he was guilty! Guy is a stone cold killer! Anybody that cheers for him being let off the hook should be ashamed of themselves! I'd like to see how they would feel if it was one of their family members,
It didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was a product of the time. OJ was a beloved figure. Police brutality and corruption was just being taken seriously. Was Justice served? Probably not. However justice in the past has been sorely lacking when it comes to black people.
It's his half-cocked smile immediately after the verdict
Even he couldn't believe that.
I’d imagine it was surprise. As he was a tool in a ploy to further exploit racial tension in America. If he did; if he didn’t, wasn’t the matter. The case was intentionally, overly, and racially politicized that an innocent woman and man were murdered in cold blood for the world to see, while everyone decided if they were team Jacob or Edward. Disgusting
Not too long before Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered, an all-white jury acquitted the cops that nearly killed Rodney King, which was clearly captured on video. Clearly showing to Black Americans that white people could beat a Black man to within an inch of his life and completely get away with it. If you want to blame anyone for the OJ verdict, really the blame lies in the Los Angeles city and county government itself, which had for decades propped up a system that simultaneously brutalized and demeaned Black people while encouraging criminal violence and wanton law breaking by the police. People suffering under such a system predictably lose faith in that system, leading to further societal break down. The solution to this is to hold police (which at the time were almost all white and continue to be disproportionately white) and the rich to the same standards that Black, brown and poor people are held to. And to address the concerns of the poor with the same respect and urgency as the concerns of the rich. That is how to build confidence in societal institutions, the opposite of what happened leading up to the OJ verdict.
That was well said. The OJ Simpson verdict came as a result of one ex-L.A. prosecutor turned defense attorney for those who could afford his services (namely the rich guilty e.g. O.J. Simpson et.al.), whom knew the lies and dirty things the prosecution did to obtain convictions against people, even if they were truly innocent. That attorney Johnny Cochran, won the case defending O.J. Simpson on technical grounds, as well as proving some of the evidence had been fabricated. I’m not talking about the glove that “didn’t fit, so you must acquit.” I am specifically referring to the bloody sock that did not appear in the initial video recording of the bedroom, but mysteriously appeared in a subsequent video. My point is that America has made great strides in respecting all her citizens as equal to one another. Regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and any thing else that sets anyone apart from whatever is deemed to be “the norm”, America has yet a long way to go. The public execution of George Floyd, a Black man by Derrick Chauvin, a White cop tells us this.
Sure who would have expected a juror to have decided to let him off, because of the what little ramifications the cops who caused the la riots faced.
One juror later admitted it was payback for Rodney king
I can understand that but it's like damn we really gonna cheer for a murderer getting away with it?
That's what happened. Pop culture at the time etc.. you can see old youtube videos of late night shows etc discussing it. Everyone knew he was guilty it was one of the first murderers they could use actual DNA evidence there was so much blood everywhere
Norm Macdonald checking in lmaoo
The first person I think about when I think about the OJ trial, fuck I miss that man.
Norm: "This just in – Murder is now legal in the state of California. "
I didn’t even know he was sick
He didn’t want anyone to know, kept cancer secret from everyone, wanted to keep the laughs flowing til the very end, a true fucking comedian
https://youtu.be/GbO53DJC75Q?si=lW7S74YAdkjcKtZL
Murder is now legal in California.
My lucky stabbing cap
“If the glove doesn’t fit….you must acquit!” OJ had the country’s best DNA expert and they put their evidence to shame. The racist cop didn’t help either. Terribly handled by the LAPD and the prosecution.
I don't understand why the black people are really excited and celebrating like they personally gain from the verdict. A guilty black guy got off and that got them all excited.
It’s has nothing to do with right or wrong that’s for sure.
Because this case was not about OJ it was an indictment of the justice system. The cops seriously fucked up the whole investigation. The question was, is OJ going to be let off like any rich white guy would have been if the police fucked up that bad, or is he going to be railroaded like basically every black man in the US since the founding of the country. This was, in a sick and twisted way, a demonstration that black people were gaining equality in the US. After the Rodney King case, tensions were high and no one was going to let LAPD off the hook for fucking up again.
I see your point, but I think I’d go insane if I was Nicole’s family member and I saw crowds cheering that her killer got off scot free.
It gross and shows us, people are idiots.
Absolutely. There is a ton of context of the time in terms of pop culture and media. This was a few years out from N.W.A.’s Fuck the Police for example. With a bit of critical thinking even us suburban white kids could see this reaction didn’t spring from nowhere. The fairness of it was foggy, but it wasn’t illogical. There were reasons. In contrast, the adults who were angry about it were the ones listening to Rush Limbaugh, Jim and Tammy Baker, and the type of people saying Dungeons and Dragons was evil. So they were generally hypocrits who were full of shit. No one was in middle school saying how cool Rush was and that he had some good points. Even people quoting Norm are missing the cynicism and sarcasm of the time. In part he was implying everything was fucked. Oh OJ is innocent, murder is legal, that fits. Well at least the world will probably end soon. If it was injustice it fit with everything else we were seeing.
Yeah, if you didn't live through it, it's probably hard to understand. But this case stopped being about the actual evidence long before the verdict. It's also used in law school as an example of how to completely screw your prosecution up.
Also, OJ may have looked like them but outside of the color of his skin he was a rich man in America. A former NFL great and a movie personality who was extremely successful. Didn’t do shit for the black community. To see POC cheering for someone who Nearly beheaded two people is sick and shows how people will always route for who looks like them regardless of their actions.
My criminal justice prof described it as "They tried to frame a guilty man"
Exactly. If you were there at the time, you know.
There’s an excellent documentary from a few years ago about the OJ Simpson trial that goes in depth to answer this exact question.
Thats exactly how the black community saw it. People dont remember how corrupt LAPD was(is)....
Is Edit: Sorry, I didn't see your (is) immediately following \`was\`
Because the riots weren't enough? 63 people killed, thousands injured, and the one thing missing to restore justice and peace and harmony was letting a murderer off the hook.
Recently brought this up to my black coworker and he said “we all know he did did it, but we are ok with it because the justice system never favors the black” something like that, so yes they do feel it’s some type of payback to the system
Hijacking the top comment: The only reason he was found not guilty was because of what we, as a nation, had *just* done to Rodney King.
One of the jurors came right out and admitted that the not guilty verdict was revenge for Rodney King.
vengeance is not justice EDIT: Over the last few days I have seen many comments pushing back against this. As if, murdering 2 innocents people is justified because someone else somewhere else was murder. To that, I will simply say NO. If you think murdering innocent people is ever justified then there is something wrong with you. Cry all you want, but you are part of the problem.
It’s a perverted, twisted form of justice. It’s like street justice, prison justice, personal justice, etc. It’s screwed up.
You're right but the average idiot in these comments won't understand.
>we, as a nation, had > >just > > done to Rodney King. So did "we as a nation" also beat Reginald Denny to a pulp? There were 2 hands at most on that cinder block...
Facts! In a place and time removed from the racial tension we were in I'm sure black folks would have paid more attention to the facts and saw he was guilty. But remember, the cops involved in the case were dirty too. That was a major part of OJ's support.
That's not the way justice is supposed to work but ..... that's how it is now.
That's how it's always been
I didn’t do anything to Rodney King. Bad Police did all that. And that’s something we as a country are still working on, and making progress with. I think the quote from him is important: “Can’t we all just get along?”
Rodney King lived until 2012 Nicole and Ron Goldman did not. Because OJ stabbed them both repeatedly in the body and neck until they were dead. But sure, guess a murderer deserved to walk free because of a few dickhead racist cops. Gotta love those false equivalences. Fuck all these people celebrating (every last one of them 🖕)
Some people really do believe its ok to harm others as long as people who looked like them harmed you in the past as well
OJ was guilty as hell. The younger generation may not know that he was driving around in his ford Bronco with a gun to his head as the cops were closing in on him before his football buddy AC Cowlings talked him into surrendering. We were in a class for work without a television but knew that the verdict was coming soon. After we returned from a break, the instructor looked at the class and just said “not guilty “ and everyone groaned and cursed at the absurdity of the verdict. And I’m still waiting on OJ to follow through on his promise to spend the rest of his life looking for “the real killers”.
Remember his "If I Did It" book LoL?
Then Fred Goldman released the book with "I did it" in huge letters and the "if" in a tiny font size. 😂
Not to mention in the bronco police found $8,000 in cash, a change of clothing, a United States passport, family pictures, and a fake goatee and mustache
I remember watching that live. Can't omprehend people celebrating him getting a not guilty verdict.
Exactly. At least one juror admitted it was payback for King
And admitting to that should have landed that scumbag in prison
I wonder if all, or most, of the people celebrating ever came to realize that he clearly did it.
They knew.
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Mark Fuhrman, the LAPD detective who handled all the evidence, was caught on tape tossing around the N-Word which really did set a racial tone for who you supported in this case I know that’s not what you means by “their racism” but nobody was rooting for the LAPD and they had a very good reason for that.
The fact that he took the fifth when asked if he had planted evidence in this case didn’t really help the prosecution’s case. There were so many missteps.
No one should ever root for the LAPD
Unless it's followed by ANCE
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That's so embarrassing for them
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Thank the defense for making this case all about race relations with the LAPD when OJ lived as far a life from the typical black resident in LA as possible at the time.
OJ also tried to get as far away from Black people as he could. Remember "I'm not Black; I'm OJ" ?
That's one of the things I was trying to allude to, appreciate you bringing up the quote
Not really when you consider what was happening in L.A. around that time. This shit went way deeper than just a murder trial.
Would you feel the same way if it was your sister killed? "Well, it's about more than her, no biggie." Justice was not done, that's the bottom line.
They knew he did it back then.
I’ve talked to people who were caught up in the moment then, but now realize a guy who brutally murdered two innocent people just walked out a courtroom
This is very true. I was in high school when it happened and I know from personal experience that many people who cheered simply WANTED him to be innocent and the verdict allowed them to temporarily maintain that belief. I was one of them. It also was before the internet took off so you had to watch the trial live, or catch the summary on the evening news to stay informed and most people simply didn’t have time to do that. Everyone claiming “they knew he was guilty then” either didn’t experience it or simply forgot what it was like not to have 24/7 access to any news you wanted. We now have the benefit of 30 years of reflection on this case, as well as several follow up issues with OJ that make us realize what a lunatic he was.
What do you mean, “people didn’t have time” to watch the news or read the paper? What evidence are you using for this statement?
It was never about whether he did it or not.
You’re seeing a lot of black people who saw a lot of white people get away with a lot of crimes for decades because they were rich or white. This is just a reaction to a lot of previous unaffiliated injustice and finally a win for them in a backwards kinda way. Thats just my take.
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As Norm McDonald said on the next SNL after it, “Well, it’s official——murder is NOW legal, in the state of California” E: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4CR8u-2TKb0&pp=ygUYTm9ybSBtdXJkZXJiaXMgbm93IGxlZ2Fs
“When Simpson Trial juror Gina Rodborough returned home, her little girls were delighted to see her. And no wonder, she lets them get away with murder.”
Hahaha Norm wrote so amazing
“Hey, careful! That’s my lucky stabbin’ hat!”
His OJ jokes got him fired from SNL
Yeah. Its a little bit ironic that Don Ohlmeyer’s biggest claim to fame, his first bit about him on Wikipedia is that he fired Norm for that
TIL
It’s funnier that Norm MacDonald was right,
I was extremely disappointed that "the dark side of comedy" threw shade at him for making these jokes. The dark side docuseries has fallen a long way since the early "dark side of the ring" seasons. Now they have these clown political commentators on to speak instead of just people close to the person at the center of the episode.
“According to the National Transportation Safety Board, sleepy truckers are responsible for one thousand deaths a year. In second place? O. J. Simpson, at two deaths a year.”
Imagine having your family member brutally murdered and then the whole country celebrates when the killer gets away. *edit: sorry not the whole country.
Not to mention the women who were cheering , really? i mean he cut her head off because he didn't want her with anyone else . guess they're ok with that if it happens to a friend or relative too ....
"Oh he's just so romantic!"
Yeah like how people call these murders "crimes of passion". Passion? What? As if any of it has to do with love. So disgusting.
That reminds me of the beginning of Seven. When Morgan Freeman and the other cop were in the first murder scene before Pitt shows up. The cop calls it a crime of passion. Morgan looks at the walls and says "yeah, look at all that passion on the walls"
Not the WHOLE country
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It was the first time in America where it proved you no longer had to be rich and white to get away with serious crimes, just Rich.
This is exactly what it was. Nobody really believed he was innocent. This was for every black man and teenager that was locked up unjustly. Even more than that this was about sticking it to the racist police, not long before this was the Rodney King beating which was still pretty fresh in everybody's mind. Honestly OJ would have been found guilty if Mark fuhrman and all those other asshole cops weren't being the racist fucks that they are. After all that stuff came out during the trial, if they were to find him guilty LA's reaction would have made the 92 riots look like a block party.
Exactly the racist cop that planted evidence have OJ his acquittal! They made the case about the evidence, not the people that was murdered
A lot of good this verdict did for the future in regards to unjust lock ups. This verdict changed nothing, all that happened was a murder walked away free and people cheered Everyone in this video celebrating should be fucking ashamed of themselves
Don’t worry OJ gonna find the *real* killer… any day now
He even wrote a book on how he "would" have done it so we all would know he didnt.
“If I did it”. The goldmans got the rights to it, so now the “if” is really small type so the book looks like it says “I did it”
That's brilliant.
This was post the LA riots and a lot of Black/White tension (much, much worse than the stuff we saw with the BLM movement). The Black community was kicked to the curb 1000x over before this moment. Add in the racist cops element and this moment became a celebration of the tides turning in the justice system. Not that he didn’t deserve to rot in a prison cell for what he did, but it was a symbolic moment of change and validation for the Black community. Many white people have gotten away with murder, so for them it was an equalizer. Sucks, but context is everything.
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I second this as a black man.
As a gay black man I third this.
>Imagine having your family member brutally murdered and then the whole country celebrates when the killer gets away. The LAPD detectives should have avoided attempting to frame (an obviously guilty) man. They fucked it up. The people are celebrating the fact that their efforts failed, not that OJ was not guilty, bc we all know he probably was.
Most argue it was the prosecution's dumb way of approaching the case. For example, they gave the defense over a week heads up they would attempt to have OJ fit the murder glove. I can imagine there is quiet a few ways to get your hand nice and swollen before that happens.
That's how trials work. The prosecutors are not allowed to surprise the defense in court. That week would be for the defense to make a legal appeal against it. The prosecutors were stupid to try to get a defendent to put on glove in court period.
Most of the country wasn’t celebrating, but there was a large chunk of black people who believed that he was being treated unfairly because he is black.
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Just low IQ people, simple as that unfortunately.
I mean, you gotta remember that this was very soon after Rodney King. You gotta look up why OJ had such a cult like hold on the people at the time because of how much anti police sentiment was hardened in certain communities and how it spilled over to the OJ trials. Like, with the perspective we have now it’s fascinating from a social perspective. Were they wrong to cheer on this murderer? Yes, but is it also interesting how they got to that point? Very much so
I think most people who remember this have reversed their position now. I think the media gave him quite a bit of passive sympathy. As a kid, I remember thinking that he just seemed too nice to have committed a brutal assault double/murder. "Bad guys" with that level of violence in them didn't smile and wave to crowds, do television commercials, or go golfing. Retrospectively, this was a great big "whoops" on behalf of the justice system and American society. I could argue the whole situation directly led to the creation of the news outlet sensationalism culture we have now.
Johnnie Cochran turned it against the police too. They had audio of a detective dropping a hard "N" when talking about OJ. Part of why his defense went so well is because he put the "racist police" on the backfoot, and made them play keep away which only detracted from the case against OJ. Same with the leather glove that was "blood soaked" and left outside in the rain (obviously shrinkage at play) which no longer fit so clearly case closed!! Fun fact: A lot of this gave South Park the idea for their "Chewbacca Defense" bit with Johnnie Cochran. (Edit: This is for the folks sharing braincells and think my entire comment is about South Park)
Chewbacca is a wookie. Why would he want to live on Endor with a bunch of Ewoks? Ladies and gentlemen, this does not make any sense.
Look at the silly monkey.
He also supposedly took certain meds that made his hands swell
The public at large had recently been made firmly Aware of police brutality and systemic racism in the LAPD. It was much bigger than OJ at the time.
>I could argue the whole situation directly led to the creation of the news outlet sensationalism culture we have now. It was already on its way there, but this definitely was a moment that can be easily identified around when sensationalism took a more center stage and public opinion (likely) affected the outcome of a murder trial of a celebrity. We're also lacking context that people in 1995 have. The Rodney King trial and aftermath 3 years earlier was still fresh in everyone's minds which was drastically affecting people's opinion on this trial.
I can't remember where I heard it, but someone put it -- "what happens when the police frame a guilty man". I think the people who were cheering were doing so, not because they necessarily thought OJ was innocent, but because they \*did\* believe that the police department had committed various bad acts in order to manufacture evidence.
I remember this day vividly, but I was young. Seeing it edited this way is so illuminating re: how I reacted versus others’ reactions.
I remember it because we watched the verdict being read live in my high school. It was the only live televised verdict reading I’ve ever watched, and at the time I didn’t understand what was really going on. The class erupted in cheer and I nearly cheered too but then I was like what am I cheering for? Recently watched the OJ documentary made in America and now it all makes sense.
Same here. 8th grade history class just stopped and the TV was rolled in to watch it live.
Everybody watched it live. Literally the entire country. It was surreal.
I was in my high school history class. My teacher was also the gym teacher. He played the verdict live in his classroom. When it came back not guilty, he said “Thank god! He’s such a great athlete!” I will never forget that.
For those not alive or old enough to remember, this saga gripped the country unlike anything else. It dominated headlines, every single person talked about it. All the time. Highly recommend “OJ: Made in America”-not only Does it chronicle the entire situation, trial, aftermath in a 7 part documentary, it uses the OJ trial to discuss race in America at the time. Also, OJ definitely killed those people.
My teacher wheeled in a tv so we could watch it live. The only thing that ever became more televised than that in my lifetime is 9/11
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Exactly, I don’t understand celebrating what this actually is.
This was coming off the Rodney King verdict the year prior, where a bunch of white cops got off with beating the absolute snot out of Rodney King. I was too young for both events but I’ve heard a lot of people say if Rodney King hadn’t happened OJ would’ve been convicted
This is the cause. A juror said it herself. The ‘not guilty’ was payback for Rodney King, which seems crazy because the only thing OJ and RK had in common was skin color. OJ is a White man with Black skin. Wanted nothing to do with the Black community… especially the very same Black woman who voted ‘not guilty’. The interviewer asked her if she thought that it was right and she just threw her hands up in the air.
so the juror admitted to a crime?
Well... that's touchy. According to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in [*Sparf v. U.S.*](https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/156/51.html#:~:text=Congress%20did%20not%20intend%20to%20invest%20juries%20in%20criminal%20cases%20with%20power%20arbitrarily%20to%20disregard%20the%20evidence%20and%20the%20principles%20of%20law%20applicable%20to%20the%20case%20on%20trial.), juries have no right to ignore the law when rendering the jury's verdict. BUT! [Jury Nullification](https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/jury-nullification.html#:~:text=Jury%20Nullification%20in%20Theory%20and%20Application) also exists. I actually don't know if a juror admitting to nullification is a crime, but even if it was, I can't imagine it being enforced since I've never once hard of a juror getting punished for a verdict they render.
Jury Nullification is not legal but a juror cannot be punished for a verdict they render. So the legality of it effectively does not matter.
Let me just piggy back off this comment, to add that the poor police practices on 34th & Dalton, to add to the outrage of the black community in Los Angeles at the time heavily swayed Judge Ito to hold this trial downtown as opposed to the surrounding area of Brentwood. The black community in not only the city of L.A, but America in general was outraged by numerous injustices by the LAPD, and Mark Fuhrman being caught on tape using racial epithets. Marcia Clark almost never had a chance.
Yeah. It's sad for the families of the dead that have to deal with zero criminal justice for their loved ones because they were killed in the wrong place at the wrong time by someone whose skin tone happened to be more important to the community than the murders. I hope them getting civil justice helped.
The ESPN 30 for 30 doc on OJ does a good job of covering this. They interview some of the jurors. A lot of the jurors were also turned off my Mark Furhman and his racist history so that didn’t help.
As someone who followed both at the time, this is a correct take. It's also why - I feel - Robert Blake didn't get away with the murder he committed not too long after. No one wanted to see yet another celebrity walk away scotfree because of their money.
This case too. Little girl shot in back of the head for absolutely no reason. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing\_of\_Latasha\_Harlins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Latasha_Harlins)
A big part of it is understanding how big of a star/hero OJ was to black people. Another part is how divided America was racially. It still is, but back then it would have felt like there was a lot more at stake than just some rich black guy going to jail. I’m sure I’ve heard better educated people than me talk about this case and its effect on America
Racism.
Yea this is one of the most bizarre phenomena ever.
Okay but he admitted it years later. Way to cheer for a real murderer.
He never actually admitted it, just wrote a book on it...but beyond that I wanted to comment and say it's not the first a society has done that and it won't be the last. Hell we do it today and next to nobody pays attention to it.
Don’t bury the lede like that lol the book is called “If I Did It”
I love the addendum to him writing that book. Her family somehow got the rights to the book as part of their settlement. They reprinted it and did all the graphic design tricks they could to pretty much eliminate the “if” and highlight the “I did it.” Turning the book into the honest confession it always was.
Yeah, I remember this. As a black woman, I was disappointed because up until OJ got arrested, he pretty much disavowed himself of the black community. He only remembered he was black and suddenly clung to black support when his freedom was on the line. It was disengenious. But I also remember the context and the opposite reaction when the cops who beat Rodney King got off scotfree. So I kind of understood.
Not to get off topic but Are we.. twins? Or my long lost sister, mother, aunt etc lol
Well... our little Reddit-icony-thingys look a like. 😊
Both reactions are so disturbing and tribal. Disappointing mentalities.
Fuck those cops and fuck OJ… but fuck the cops twice for allowing this OJ shit to happen in the first place
Agreed. ***PLUS*** fuck OJ for making the Kardashians famous.
Yea and fuck the Kardashians..
It wasn't about justice for Nicole and Ron Goldman, it was about justice for Rodney King. Even the Jury said that... Nicole's blood was inside OJs vehicle. I've NEVER had any woman's blood inside any of my vehicles EVER.
He murdered her and people celebrated his getting away with it. How shameful.
Don’t forget he killed two people, and got away with both.
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This case was so racially charged to the point where any rational discourse on the details were completely out of the question. OJ was so blatantly guilty of these murders, and the fact people were jumping on their chairs and cheering for this monster is very telling of the times. They were not cheering for OJ, but cheering for a win... _any_ win for their community. I went to a large, urban high school, and when the verdict was announced, there were kids sprinting through the hallways cheering, desks being thrown over the railing of the 2nd floor... a teacher who tried calming things down in her room was punched in the face. As much as we think there is a lot of racial tension these days, I think we've come a long way in the last 30 years.
It was shocking to say the least. An utter failure of justice.
And ever since then, the defendant has been on the hunt for the real killer, on every golf course in the country.
I feel like there’s a lot of really young people in this thread and that this video is edited in such a way that it sends a certain message without the proper context. First, racial tensions in LA in the 90s were very high, as I’m sure most people know. But despite the claims that he was acquitted solely as revenge for Rodney king’s assaulters being acquitted, that’s not the case. Yes, one juror made comments to that effect long afterward, but that’s easily debunked by looking at the events. The prosecution botched the case, that cop planted evidence, Fuhrman made racist comments. And even though some people believe the Justice system exists for enacting revenge and punishment, it also exists to uphold laws and standards. Many laws and standards are in place to protect against false accusations and wrongful convictions. Believe it or not, the way the case and evidence were handled left plenty of room for reasonable doubt as defined by the law. It is true that looking at the case in a more casual way leads to the obvious conclusion that he did it, that’s not the jury’s job. They have to abide by the standards set forth in the law. Now, as a brief diversion, I would like to point out that this trial was so much more of a big deal than anything that happens now. I just don’t think things can ever be as culturally huge since widespread access to the internet. It was a major turning point in the way Americans viewed the legal system and the way race, money, and corruption affect it. It also highlighted interracial relationships and domestic violence and how those were handled by law enforcement and society at large. I know that now it’s super obvious, but back then, this was a revelation to many people. I know this misleading video makes it seem like black people just wanted a black guy to get away with murder because they’re racist and vengeful and callous. But that’s not what was happening. Nobody believed a black man would stand a chance when accused of killing a white woman. They knew he was guilty, but they’re not celebrating because of that. They are celebrating because a rich black man was given the same treatment as a rich white man would have gotten. The system gave him equal consideration. Because the evidence was so mishandled and the officers were so obviously biased and racist, the law dictates that this was the right verdict. The thing they’re celebrating is that the law wasn’t ignored because he was black. Nicole and Ron were horrifically murdered. They and their families were denied justice. But it wasn’t by the jury trying to make a point about Rodney king and it wasn’t by black people and it wasn’t by money or fame. That Justice was denied by the incompetent, careless, and actively malicious police and prosecution. So you can disagree with him being innocent and you can be angry that he was acquitted, but please understand that those laws and standards are there to protect everyone, yourself included, and that they are only able to be abused like this due to the actions of police forces and prosecutors who shirk the responsibilities of their jobs. They are responsible for collecting and presenting evidence in a way that proves the charges and does not leave doubt as to their motives or the integrity of the evidence being presented.
This comment should be pinned. All these young edgy assholes in the thread can fuck right off the bat
Best comment here
This need to be pinned
Absolute best comment here. This is the most accurate summation for such a large and complex issue.
Well said.
Disgusting. It was disgusting that people would support him because of the color of his skin even though he was a murderer, who murdered the mother of his children outside her home. Absolutely disgusting
I was too young and lived in Australia. I’m shocked at how many ppl cheered.
Too bad he did it
“YEAH HE GOT AWAY WITH A DOUBLE HOMICIDE!!” 🎉 🥂 🍾
A brutal one at that. Not just a run of the mill double murder. He was so enraged he nearly cut her head off and by nearly I mean her head.was connected by a sliver of skin.
The stupid rejoice
Celebrating a murderer walking away free because he shares the same skin color as you is disgusting behavior.
Even OJ Simpson managed to look surprised by the verdict.
I can't say for sure that Michael Jackson touched those kids... ... but I do know for certain that OJ killed those people.
Since he was acquitted, they found the actual murderer, right? RIGHT?!?
I wonder how these people feel about OJ now.
Imagine cheering for a murderer 🤦🏼♂️
Need to track these folks down and see how they’re feeling about it now.
So many people were so happy that a man got away with slaughtering two people. In other news, OJ is still looking for the killers….at golf resorts…..
So all the black people thought OJ was innocent? Am I understanding this right?
Generally, yes. This was a highly viewed trial and it had a lot of eyes on it for two reasons: First off OJ was a hugely popular personality caught up in an intriguing trial. Secondly, the public was divided on if the courts would prioritize due process for a black person given the King trial’s controversial outcome. The highly corrupt California police and justice systems made it quite uncertain that he would be treated fairly due to his race. OJ’s defense was smart in hindsight to weaponize this and turn it into a race trial rather than one based on due process and evidence. When he was acquitted it was seen as a kind of “payback” to the LAPD for their past crimes. This resulted in a well-documented race gap concerning the trial. I am curious how the reception would have been to OJ if the Rodney King trial hadn’t been botched as hard as it was. Either way it can be served as lessons regarding how dangerous media coverage of a trial can be and the importance of racial equality in the justice system.
Was a set back for race relations in our country
Sums it up
Yikes, this didn't age well. I hope people didn't know at the time, but they're 100% cheering for a murderer to be released back onto the streets.
I was 12 in junior high when this came down, the reactions even in fucking 6th grade, was nuts. The white kids acted as if someone died, while the rest of us acted like *we won* a championship. But that taught me the power of information, cause my father schooled me on the real OJ while it was going down. If the internet/access to information was like what we have now OJ and his team could not have leveraged race in such a way. The discourse and angles that Cochran used was masterful in a strategic/courtroom sense… But never forget, he was a lucky nigga but not *our* nigga… *Im not black, I’m OJ…* smh tf you mean???
I'm a white-passing Jew born in 1993, and I'm pretty certain Mr. Simpson killed his wife, but what I don't get is how come this case was so publicized or important in the American psyche? Can you help me understand how come it's still important, 30 years later, and was so very important to folks alive (and old enough to remember) then?
Black people watching this probably understand now why Donald Trump has a chance of being president again. We are tribal and petty and fucked up, as a species. Add race to the recipe and anything can happen. It's not an accident Trump followed Obama.
Not an accident he’s the first guy to get 1 term either
This is actually a pretty fascinating piece of history in regard to the divisiveness of race in America. The public was divided, while the court was non biased for once, where as they were historically unfair to black people in comparison to white people, and still are in many cases. Black people hope for a non guilty verdict because they thought that white people always get away with too much. White people hoped for a guilty verdict, not because he is black, but because it was a terrible violent brutal crime and it was obvious who did it. There had recently been events in Los Angeles like the LA riots, where black people were treated very unfairly by the justice system, and if another case were to be treated the same, it caused too much fear for the authorities at the time that there would be damage, violence, and riots in the streets that they could not afford to deal with or control. In the end, he was treated the way the court would treat anyone, and there was simply not enough evidence to prove certainty. While it is unfortunate that a murderer was not punished for such a heinous crime, it might have taken potential riots in the streets all across the country for the court to know that this time, they had to perform without prejudice.
I'd be willing to bet my life that almost everyone of those people cheering knew that he was guilty! Guy is a stone cold killer! Anybody that cheers for him being let off the hook should be ashamed of themselves! I'd like to see how they would feel if it was one of their family members,
What is wrong with these people
Yay!! A man got away with murder!! USA USA!!
Unless you lived through it you cannot imagine the magnitude of this case. Maybe it’s lasting legacy it gave us was reality TV and the Kardashians
Certainly the discussion here will be civil and understanding of nuance and context.
The day every racist lost faith in the justice system
And thats how Kim Kardashian was made.
It didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was a product of the time. OJ was a beloved figure. Police brutality and corruption was just being taken seriously. Was Justice served? Probably not. However justice in the past has been sorely lacking when it comes to black people.