don’t know anything about this dude except that he proved that you can purchase your way into being allowed to commit first degree murder with your own hands
I had a class once where a reporter came in to discuss various things he had covered, including the OJ trial. He said the consensus among the reporters was, OJ did it, but the LAPD and prosecution botched the case so badly it got him off.
That’s the whole thing, it’s a system that’s good at sending black men to prison if they’re poor. The old Chris Rock bit about if it had been OJ the bus driver it would have been open and shut and on death row.
The consensus I’ve usually heard is that the prosecutors were so busy enjoying their 15 minutes of fame from being on TV that they failed to secure the easiest slam dunk in court in history.
When he’s in the background of the opening scene in 33 1/3 and starts doing a touchdown dance after catching a baby, and then winds up for the spike… Classic, but somehow prophetic.
Out of the blue, I remember getting obsessed with the case decades after it was relevant. From what I remember:
That whole “he only got away because of a Black jury” is bullshit because the jury had more women than Black people. It was 9 Black people vs 3 Black people but 10 women vs 2 men. The media pushed it for obvious racist reasons.
“The Black jury didn’t understand DNA testing because they were Black and uneducated and Black and stoopid and Black” was also bullshit. His lawyers argued that because the LAPD was (and still is) full of anti-Black white supremacist pigs, they purposely plant evidence so a rich Black man would know his place as a Black man. They played recordings of that purjuring pig detective ranting about how seeing miscegenation filled him with homicidal rage and how the LAPD would regularly plant evidence. It was a very convincing defense.
The prosecution was also completely incompetent. OJ putting on the gloves that don’t fit was the prosecution’s idea, not the defense, so you could pretty much throw all the “his gloves didn’t fit because he took medication that swelled up his hands” out as well unless you’re saying the defense was playing 5-d chess and purposely got OJ to take the wrist-swelling medicine knowing they would get him to try on the gloves.
The jury was sequestered, i.e., could not have any interactions outside of each other or court officials for the entire trial. “Obvious” giveaways did not always make it in as evidence.
Besides, in an idealized version of the justice system, the jury will not convict if the prosecutor(s) cannot prove their case. “Not guilty” isn’t the same thing as “innocent”. Which they might’ve done if they hadn’t fucked up so incredibly badly. My pet theory is they were so used to trying to lock up innocent black men and having to frame them that they just defaulted to that even though OJ was guilty. The high-priced lawyers really shine when they laser in on prosecutorial bullshit. They tried to frame a guilty man, and their methods didn’t work as well as they did on penniless defendants.
don’t know anything about this dude except that he proved that you can purchase your way into being allowed to commit first degree murder with your own hands
I had a class once where a reporter came in to discuss various things he had covered, including the OJ trial. He said the consensus among the reporters was, OJ did it, but the LAPD and prosecution botched the case so badly it got him off.
Imagine being such a bad LA cop that you can’t even send a black man to prison. That’s like, their whole thing.
That’s the whole thing, it’s a system that’s good at sending black men to prison if they’re poor. The old Chris Rock bit about if it had been OJ the bus driver it would have been open and shut and on death row.
The consensus I’ve usually heard is that the prosecutors were so busy enjoying their 15 minutes of fame from being on TV that they failed to secure the easiest slam dunk in court in history.
I liked his performance in the Naked Gun
He was a genuinely good comedic actor.
When he’s in the background of the opening scene in 33 1/3 and starts doing a touchdown dance after catching a baby, and then winds up for the spike… Classic, but somehow prophetic.
I liked when he saved the cat from a burning skyscraper in The Towering Inferno.
Out of the blue, I remember getting obsessed with the case decades after it was relevant. From what I remember:
That whole “he only got away because of a Black jury” is bullshit because the jury had more women than Black people. It was 9 Black people vs 3 Black people but 10 women vs 2 men. The media pushed it for obvious racist reasons.
“The Black jury didn’t understand DNA testing because they were Black and uneducated and Black and stoopid and Black” was also bullshit. His lawyers argued that because the LAPD was (and still is) full of anti-Black white supremacist pigs, they purposely plant evidence so a rich Black man would know his place as a Black man. They played recordings of that purjuring pig detective ranting about how seeing miscegenation filled him with homicidal rage and how the LAPD would regularly plant evidence. It was a very convincing defense.
The prosecution was also completely incompetent. OJ putting on the gloves that don’t fit was the prosecution’s idea, not the defense, so you could pretty much throw all the “his gloves didn’t fit because he took medication that swelled up his hands” out as well unless you’re saying the defense was playing 5-d chess and purposely got OJ to take the wrist-swelling medicine knowing they would get him to try on the gloves.
Johnnie Cochran was worth his weight in gold and then some. The prosecution never stood a fucking change.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
My American relatives still complain about the black jury letting him off beside of their “collective victim complex”
The jury was sequestered, i.e., could not have any interactions outside of each other or court officials for the entire trial. “Obvious” giveaways did not always make it in as evidence.
Besides, in an idealized version of the justice system, the jury will not convict if the prosecutor(s) cannot prove their case. “Not guilty” isn’t the same thing as “innocent”. Which they might’ve done if they hadn’t fucked up so incredibly badly. My pet theory is they were so used to trying to lock up innocent black men and having to frame them that they just defaulted to that even though OJ was guilty. The high-priced lawyers really shine when they laser in on prosecutorial bullshit. They tried to frame a guilty man, and their methods didn’t work as well as they did on penniless defendants.
The jury had more women than Black people. It was 9 Black people vs 3 non-Black people but 10 women vs 2 men.