O.J. Simpson’s life took a major turn on June 12th, 1994 when his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were brutally murdered. The entire week following the murders is when everything slowly started to deteriorate for O.J. Slowly the evidence began to pile up against him. After the evidence piled up enough, the state felt there was enough evidence to arrest Simpson on two counts of murder. Making himself appear more guilty, O.J. fled from the police in the famous bronco chase.
The O.J. Simpson Trial was one of the most controversial trials in the history of our country. Many people feel that O.J. was guilty and should have never been acquitted. The two main issues revolving around the O.J. trial are the issues of race and the media.
The racial issues seemed to have played a key role in the trial. People point out the fact that the criminal trial led to an acquittal with a primarily black jury and the civil trial led to an indictment with a primarily white jury. In the civil trial Simpson was found liable in the wrongful deaths of Simpson and Brown, so obviously the standards of guilt were different. However, more than likely race still played a factor.
When the trial was said and done, the races were divided with the outcome of the verdict. Seventy percent of blacks felt O.J. was acquitted on facts and law, while fifty three percent of whites felt the there were other factors that the determined the outcome of the verdict.
The media also played a huge role in the trial. In 1995, Neilsen ratings increased for several networks including: CNN, coatroom television network, black entertainment television, E, and CNBC. Print media took advantage of the press with things such as special "O.J. edition" newspapers and magazines. Vendors even sold t-shirts that had sayings such as "free O.J." or "fry O.J."
Many people think Judge Lance Ito’s decision to allow television cameras in the coatroom was a mistake from the get go. People think the cameras only made the trial become a long running spectacle for the media to use to entertain the audience. Also, people argue that the cameras simply made a mockery out of the United States jury system.
Advocates of the television cameras say the televised trial gave Americans first hand information on how the jury system works. They say that it have a higher visibility of the trial and made people think much more indepthly about the issues.
Finally, the media even was able to extend itself into the Brown family. After the tragedy, Lou Brown narrated O.J. and Nicole’s wedding video for 162,000 dollars. Nicole’s sister even sold nude pictures of Nicole to the National Enquirer for 32,000 dollars. She said the money was to held support Sydney, O.J. and Nicole’s youngest son.
There is really no wrong or right answer to how the roles of race and media played in the trial. They were the two major factors, but it is for individuals to which way the two factors swayed the decision.
Matt Hamrick