O.J. Finally Found Guilty
Thirteen years too late, but sweet nonetheless. (Also, Roger L. Simon on Vindication For the Goldman Family)
“Guilty.” Twelve times, “Guilty.” How sweet the sound.
Thirteen years ago to the day, if not quite the hour, I was at home in Los Angeles with Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus queued up in the CD player as I anticipated what I was certain would be a guilty verdict in the killer’s murder trial. I had made regular appearances in the same courthouse, sometimes on the very floor where the circus was running. I had waded through the cameramen and the kooks, the T-shirt sellers and the tourists, all the characters that made up the surreal menagerie assembled every day outside the building. The killer’s hour of justice had finally arrived. Or so I believed.
I didn’t play the music that day, of course. And I don’t mind saying I was angry about what followed: the celebrations on the street outside the courthouse and elsewhere, the relentless preening of Johnny Cochran and his insufferable “Dream Team,” the smug, self-satisfied swagger of the killer himself. How can this be, I wondered.
Then I saw the jurors interviewed on television. One of them, a woman, was discussing the presence of EDTA, a chemical found in laundry detergents but also used as a preservative in forensic blood samples, on the socks found in the killer’s bedroom, socks that bore damning traces of both Nicole Simpson’s and Ronald Goldman’s blood. “There was ETA on them socks,” she said, and then I knew. The killer could have confessed to the whole thing on the witness stand, he could have carved “I did it!” into the counsel table with the murder weapon as all of them watched, and that bunch would have found a way to give him a pass and blame it on the cops.
But now, “Guilty.” Twelve times, “Guilty.”
There was no comparable spectacle outside the Las Vegas courthouse when the verdict was announced Friday night. There were even empty seats to be found in the courtroom itself. Much in the news had eclipsed the three-week trial, of course, but even if there had been no ongoing presidential race, even if there had been no meltdown on Wall Street, it was as though America couldn’t quite bring itself to focus on the killer and his low-rent toadies and their low-rent robbery. Sure he did it, most people thought, but if he beats this one, we don’t want to watch.
But it was worth watching, coming as it did just as the eleven o’clock news was starting here on the west coast. “Guilty,” said the court clerk. Twelve times, “Guilty.” And then came the poetic denouement as the killer was handcuffed and taken into custody, perhaps for the rest of his life. The only sounds were the sobs of the killer’s sister, eerily echoing the sobs we heard thirteen years ago as Kim Goldman saw the man who had butchered her brother set free.
Not so smug now, is he? It isn’t justice, but it will have to do.
“Jack Dunphy” is the pseudonym of an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.
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36 Comments
1. mik:finally!
Oct 5, 2008 - 1:54 am 2. dougf:Someone at Roger’s site posted that ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’. A platitude firmly in need of historical revisiting.
In this case —- YES INDEED THEY DO. I frankly wouldn’t have cared if they had managed to find him guilty of aggravated jaywalking and thereupon discovered some unique and long lost way to send him to the big house for a long stay.
Just as long as he finally goes — and STAYS there. Maybe all the members of that pathetic LA jury can visit.
Justice delayed IS usually justice denied. But not this time. I expect all the usual suspects will be out complaining that he has been persecuted in this case because he is OJ. Well they are probably right.
And that’s a GOOD thing.
Oct 5, 2008 - 5:45 am 3. Spinoneone:While it may be that OJ was guilty in this case, it is very likely that the case will the thrown out. Why? Because at least five jurors are on record as saying that they believed the 1995 verdict was wrong. See here for more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/04/simpson.jury/index.html That probably constitute a “tainted” jury which, if so found, will result in a mistrial.
Oct 5, 2008 - 6:02 am 4. David P:Killing 2 people and then getting away with murder won’t be his legacy.
Oct 5, 2008 - 6:10 am 5. Broadsword:Will OJ be able to continue his search for the “real Killers” from an 8×10 room? Maybe if he has a small mirror with these words etched onto the glass, “To locate real killers, look into mirror.” Heh.
Oct 5, 2008 - 6:45 am 6. Scott:Maybe old Juice should have called The Cochran Firm..he he
Oct 5, 2008 - 6:48 am 7. Ditto:The part I find most satisfying is the part that likely galled the Teflon-coated killer the most… that his celebrity is gone. I will think of him no more.
Oct 5, 2008 - 8:37 am 8. NahnCee:I’ve seen a couple of interviews from Dominique Dunne representing Vanity Fair there at the Las Vegas trial. The main thing he (and all the news articles I’ve read) have commented on is the lack of media presence at this trial. That in Las Vegas they had set aside space outside for the media to congregate, as well as space in the courtroom, and there simply were not any bodies.
The interpretation of this has been that no one cares about OJ any more to show up or support him or hiss at him. I wonder, however, if a different interpretation would be to contrast how MSM has fallen in wealth and ability since 1995. If newspapers and TV stations have cut half their staff since that Trial of the Century, then of course they are not going to have either the bodies nor the budget to send to camp out at the latest OJ circus-wannabe.
Looking at OJ’s pictures from Las Vegas, his hairline has receded considerably. I like to think that for every hair he has lost since 1995, a reporter lost their job. THAT would also be justice.
Oct 5, 2008 - 9:57 am 9. LeighB:“I’ve seen a couple of interviews from Dominique Dunne…”.
I believe you mean Dominick Dunne. Dominique was the name of his murdered daughter.
Speaking of OJ, I hope his children will finally get some distance from this man and find some peace. It has been sad to hear about the calls to police from both his daughters regarding arguments that got out of control.
Oct 5, 2008 - 11:25 am 10. NahnCee:Leigh. Yes, you’re right. My fault.
Oct 5, 2008 - 11:40 am 11. LeighB:NahnCee, somehow I think Mr. Dunne would not mind that we have not forgotten her…
Oct 5, 2008 - 12:06 pm 12. Marc Boyd:OJ’s entertainment value has vanished. No slow speed chase. Really though. The first trial was decided and is way over. I like a lot of you have suspicions about it. Rule of law prevails. We may or may not know the whole truth in the murder case unless the guilty one steps up for some reason.
This was a new trial, the charges showing how stupid he really is for getting in trouble in the first place. I would have been living a low key life and avoiding everything involved in this case like the plague.
Well, all of the facts convicted him this time. I assume. He really doesn’t have any wiggle room, except for presumed prejudice. Let’s see what sentencing he gets. He may get a good many years to think about things. His IQ will, sadly, not improve.
Oct 5, 2008 - 2:01 pm 13. Jennifer:I used to work for a former Chicago homicide cop.
He used to like to say that the OJ jury thought that DNA meant “does not apply”.
Oct 5, 2008 - 2:58 pm 14. Dave II:It seems the media circus around OJ this time (and the related “racial” overtones) have been fairly well negated by the timing of the election cycle and the candidacy of Obama.
Now…if Obama LOSES, and then we get to witness OJ getting 15-20 years the following month…all bets are off!!!
Oct 5, 2008 - 3:49 pm 15. sixfingers:The cops finally did it.
Oct 5, 2008 - 7:39 pm 16. Judy, NYC:They put another innocent man in jail.
This whole thing was a set up and a frame.
It must have cost Goldman a pretty penny.
Thirteen years the cops were so intent on framing OJ, that they let the real murder get away.
This is normal sop for cops.
Arrest the innocent and than frame them.
If people could take an honest lie detector test there would be less innocent people in jail and more cops in jail.
sixfingers: since you find policing such an invasion of oj’s innocence, and probably think those guys with the muscles and the gang tattoos are framed by the cops, and that the goldmans paid off the whole criminal justice system, here is what you should do. immediately phone your nearest precinct and insist they no longer patrol your neighborhood, or make arrests, or respond to 911 if it comes from anywhere near where you live. i know that you, yourself, without any damn cops around, will be eager to serve warrants on armed and dangerous criminals (no doubt, innocent), deal with crazed druggies and the aggressive mentally ill, pedophiles, shootings, muggings, robberies, stabbings and domestic violence. then, of course there are the emergencies. tell your neighbors, the local bodega and the public school down the street, they can count on you, and to stop worrying about bad guys. because they’re just innocent bad guys.
Oct 5, 2008 - 10:02 pm 17. Evil Pundit:Sixfingers: Thank you. A comment thread just isn’t complete without an insane troll.
Oct 6, 2008 - 12:06 am 18. Laura butler:HOORAY, IT’S ABOUT TIME. OJ GUILTY!!!!!!!!!! GOT TO LOVE IT. He finally gets it. NahnCee, r u STUPID. And sixfingers, must have six fingers to pull the trigger lol. OJ is the man who killed Nicole and Ron. Wake up. IF it doesn’t fit, you must aquit. He didn’t have his medicine that day, so his hands swelled. Have you read the book” I(if I did it)???? six you need to read it. Of course you probably wouldn’t get it, but he confessed. A true murderer!!!!!!! What they say is “What goes around, comes around!!!! I truly believe this . Thank you God
Oct 6, 2008 - 7:21 am 19. Laura butler:Evil!!! HERE HERE
Oct 6, 2008 - 7:34 am 20. colorpro:FINALLY…In solitary for his own safety.?? Give me a break!! But, it was fine to let him roam the streets for thirteen years with all the Taxpaying citizens who are now going to pay to feed, cloth and protect the jerk.
It’s so unfortunate though that justice couldn’t be served the first time via a little “juice”…
Oct 6, 2008 - 9:16 am 21. NahnCee:I think sixfingers should move to Liberia where s/he can enjoy life with other American black people creating their own cop-free Eden.
Oct 6, 2008 - 10:29 am 22. sixfingers:You poor people are so ignorant of the workings of thr law.
Oct 6, 2008 - 2:59 pm 23. David Gillies:Get yourself arrested and you will see. You have no rights,
Dec 24 of 2007 the police received a 911 call.
The cops arrived a few minutes later. The gate was closed. The cops went back to the party.
Two days later 6six people were found dead.
Nice job King county cops.
You people just do not understand or you are cops.
Nurse, 100mg of Thorazine, stat!
Oct 6, 2008 - 4:02 pm 24. Whitehall:This seems to be an LA thing. People up here in SF hardly noticed but I was San Clemente the night the verdict was announced and it was in all the news.
Oct 6, 2008 - 4:05 pm 25. NahnCee:SF is in a 24/7 haze of marijuana. It’s what keeps them mellow — not noticing what’s happening in the real world.
Oct 6, 2008 - 4:25 pm 26. Bobby McGill:The main differences between the first trial and this one:
1. He was found guilty.
2. He will spend his life in jail.
3. Noticeably absent were streets lined with people holding signs saying, “We lost!”
Bobby
Oct 6, 2008 - 5:25 pm 27. Anono Mousse:http://idlewordship.com
I personally don’t care what happens to Simpson. Two things, however, disturb me.
One is that people like to celebrate another’s misfortune. Perhaps you’d like to go back to the days of medieval justice with public humiliation.
Second, sixfingers has the right to speak his mind without tolerating the childish personal insults.
Grow up!
Oct 6, 2008 - 8:29 pm 28. SAD BUT TRUE:OJ was aquitted of murder by our justice system but there is another law at work called kharma what goes around comes around…what a man reaps he also sows…when a persom commits crimes against people & the legal system there is a higher power than the court to convict a person even if they are aquitted by the courts.Misfortune will follow that individual & bring that individual to a place to pay the price one way or the other.All are given a chance to repent even of lesser moral crimes but if not…eternal damnation will follow. My prayer for OJ is that he confess & repent of all he has done before the Almighty Yehova God or that grim reeper of the darkness will swallow him up for eternity.
Oct 6, 2008 - 9:01 pm 29. Sonar:Every comment, as well as press coverage, accepts this verdict as based on the earlier charge and trial. Is anyone else concerned for the ‘justice system’, concerned about the facts of this case and whether they were the basis of this verdict?
Oct 7, 2008 - 12:40 am 30. Paul From Hamburg:Sonar: Yes, I am concerned that this verdict was an attempt to compensate for the previous acquittal. I am doubly concerned since he had a co-defendant who was almost certainly denied a chance at a fair trial.
When I heard the original verdict 13 years ago, I was not surprised. At that time, I felt like the prosecutors failed to remove reasonable doubt. It seemed to me that the entire case was “OJ was there when the murders happened, therefore OJ was the murderer.” My questions were, and still are: “How does one man kill two people with a knife?” and “How does one of the most recognizable men in Los Angeles drive across the city without being noticed.” From everything I saw, the evidence suggested that more than one person was involved. Even OJ implied that when he mentioned the “real killers.” The prosecutors didn’t address this. They overplayed the DNA evidence and ignored some very real weaknesses in their case.
“Jack Dunphy” may not like it, but guilty parties are set free on a regular basis. That is actually why some many African-Americans were happy to see this verdict. I usually have little sympathy for any racially based arguments, but I understand this one. In any trial, there are four possible outcomes: a guilty party is convicted, an innocent party is acquitted, a guilty party is acquitted, or an innocent party is convicted. The hope is that only the first two outcomes will occur. For the other two options, incorrect acquittals are considered the price we pay to avoid wrongful convictions. Of course, the system is not perfect and innocent people still go to jail. Unfortunately, too many black people feel like they get all the wrongful convictions and white people get all the incorrect acquittals. All that is a long way of saying that some black people were happy to see proof that an innocent verdict is possible for a black defendant, even if the innocent verdict is undeserved.
Oct 7, 2008 - 1:52 pm 31. David P:NahnCee
Oct 7, 2008 - 5:36 pm 32. Bill N:You can be in a “haze of marijuana” and still notice “what’s happening in the world.” The difference lies in applied experience & greater exposure to the world. Alcohol is abused 1,000,000,000 times more frequently in this country, yet because its federally regulated, the qualified stigma is overlooked. Californians need education, not negative stereotypes, strict marijuana laws would direct even more tax money to wasteful prosecution often non-violent criminals.
Paul,
Oct 8, 2008 - 1:09 am 33. Bill N:You must have been in Hamburg during the trial. Those of us who were living in LA at the time and heard most of the evidence (whether we wanted to or not) cannot cite any credible reasonable doubt as to OJ’s guilt. The civil jury found him guilty without any trouble.
Famous people can too drive all over LA and not be noticed at all unless they are in a limo or have some other feature to attract attention. Marilyn Monroe used to eat at local restraints and not be recognized. Anybody can drive a common Ford Bronco incognito. Why didn’t OJ pull over when the cops put on the red light if he was innocent of anything worse that a traffic violation?
OJ was acquitted because one of the investigators, Mark Fuhrman, was successfully portrayed as a racist and the jury thought that the race card trumped the truth.
Oh, a pox on MS Word and its spell checker! “Restraints” should have been “restaurants”. Sorry.
Oct 8, 2008 - 1:17 am 34. Doctors Without Boundaries at Semmelweis Society International:[...] was in jail, Arthur Anderson was under new management, Jessie Jackson wanted too much money, and Johnny Cochran was [...]
Jun 2, 2009 - 6:15 pm 35. California Conservative » Blog Archive » Doctors Without Boundaries:[...] was in jail, Arthur Anderson was under new management, Jessie Jackson wanted too much money, and Johnny Cochran was [...]
Jun 2, 2009 - 6:48 pm 36. Semmelweis Society Blog » Blog Archive » Doctors Without Borders:[...] was in jail, Arthur Anderson was under new management, Jessie Jackson wanted too much money, and Johnny Cochran was [...]
Jun 2, 2009 - 7:15 pm