The O. J. Simpson Trial

A former National Football League star and Heisman Trophy winner, the dead bodies of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, a glove, and a white Ford Bronco. The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson soon became known as “the trial of the century”. O.J. Simpson was found as a possible suspect of the murder Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman when both bodies were found brutally murdered at Nicole’s Brentwood estate, sending shock waves across the country. The eleven month trial sparked racial tensions and left America in a state of chaos and controversy. When the verdict was released finding O.J. not guilty, some rejoiced, while others protested in outrage, creating a racial divide across America. Many critics argue

O.J. Simpson not only failed to uphold justice, but also made a mockery out of the United States court system. In what was one of the most highly anticipated trials in history, the jury not failed to serve justice for Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but also let a guilty man walk free. Because of O.J.’s reputation, the trial was not viewed as one that would make legal history, according to Karen Grigsby Bates, “instead they saw a legal soap opera, as both sides played to the camera in what became a mesmerizing episode of legal theater” (www.npr.org). Both the prosecution and the defense made a number of mistakes throughout the trial and used the media to their advantage. The jury let O.J. walk away from his crimes because of his social status. If O.J. wasn’t the star African American football player, NFL commentator, and part time actor, maybe he would have had to face the consequences of his actions. In 1994, following the Civil RIghts Movement of the 1960’s, racial tensions were still aloft. When yet another African American was put on the stand, a successful one at that, the black community automatically assumed the LAPD was going after O.J. because of his race. Today, almost 60 years after the Civil Rights Movement, racial tensions have finally subsided and many Americans have changed their views on the verdict of the O.J. Simpson trial. Sam Rowe comments that today “the general view is that, back in 1994, he quite literally got away with murder” (www.telegraph.co/uk). America has finally come to the realization that a guilty man was acquitted in