HIST187 VoiceThread

In 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found dead outside Nicole's home. O.J. Simpson, Nicole's ex-husband, became the prime suspect. Despite evidence against him, O.J. was acquitted of all charges in 1995. The case captured attention due to O.J.'s celebrity status, racial tensions, media involvement, domestic violence issues, and the use of forensic science. Some Americans supported O.J. due to his charm, doubts about evidence, and allegations of police misconduct. Public reactions were divided along racial lines, influenced by police bias and media framing. The speaker believes O.J. is guilty based on his motive, inconsistencies in his alibi, his behavior during the trial, and the infamous glove that didn't fit. Hey everyone, this is Kyle here to present to you on Murder in Brentwood Part 1. So a brief overview of this case, a woman named Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found dead outside Nicole's home in Brentwood, Los Angeles in June 1994. Orenthal James Simpson, or better known as O.J. Simpson, immediately became a prime suspect in the case due to being Nicole's ex-wife. He tried to take off and evade arrest in a white Ford Bronco, but was eventually arrested and charged with murder and will be considered as one of the most famous trials of all time that will be televised and viewed by millions of people around the world. And despite the growing large pile of evidence that was against O.J., his attorneys and defense team managed to eventually acquit him of all criminal charges one year later in October of 1995, largely in part due to the introduction of the race card, which was a notion that suggested that Simpson was being unfairly treated and targeted because of the color of his skin. And this ruling is still controversial to this day. And O.J. also recently passed away due to cancer at the age of 76 a couple weeks ago now on April 10th. And for the questions this week, we have why was the O.J. Simpson case an immediate flash point in 1990s America? What themes did it touch on that captured public and media attention? Why were some Americans immediately sympathetic to O.J. Simpson and skeptical of his guilt? And moreover, why were public reactions to the Simpson case divided along political lines? For the first question, the O.J. Simpson case was an immediate flashpoint in 1990s America as it included many of these themes, such as he was a celebrity, he was a celebrity, that was a former NFL star, an actor, and he was beloved by many. He was basically a household name. Many in the United States during this time knew who O.J. Simpson was. Another big reason was his race. I mean, during the 90s in L.A., racial tension was at an all-time high, and the accusation of an African-American man killing his white ex-wife definitely fueled the fire a little bit. A third big reason was the media. This was one of the first cases that the media was heavily involved in, and it was one of the first criminal cases to be televised live and provided that people watched it with nonstop information and commentary. It was basically like watching a real-life TV show. A fourth reason is gender and domestic violence. It was already an issue, but this case only made it more prevalent. Nicole Simpson actually previously accused O.J. of abuse, which added to this giant pile of evidence that was against him. And the last reason was a fairly new one during this time, forensic science. This case is one of the first cases to use DNA evidence, which played a big role in linking O.J. to the crime scene. And all of these themes, being a celebrity, race, media, gender, domestic violence, forensic science, are all themes that capture the media and public attention. For the second question, there were multiple reasons why Americans supported O.J. despite all the evidence against him. And one of the main reasons was his charisma and his charm. I mean, he was able to win the public over very easily, as he could connect with people, and his personality was very engaging. This made him likable, as people, the everyday person, could relate to him, almost. Another big reason was police misconduct allegations. There was, during this time, the LAPD was facing allegations of racism and misconduct aimed primarily at people of color and minorities. This led to the public to be wary of the police force and struggle to trust what they had to say. This also led more people to take O.J.'s side. And a final reason was doubts about evidence. So O.J.'s attorney and defense team questioned the DNA evidence, which was the new thing, and they believed that it had been contaminated, and the DNA was a key part of trying to indict O.J. And so when the defense team brought up that, it might have been mishandled, it swayed many in the public. For the third and final question, public reactions to the O.J. case were divided along racial lines also, for multiple reasons. Like I mentioned earlier, police biased, LAPD has a history of racism toward many minorities and often tried to mishandle evidence on purpose to make the minority suspects more guilty. There was history of racial tensions, which I mentioned earlier as well. There were many riots in L.A. due to issues of race and injustice, and many African Americans were treated unfairly compared to their white counterparts during this time. And of course, the media, of course, played a huge role. I mean, it was the first case that was nationally televised, media biases all over the place. Some outlets framed the case as a racial issue, which only stoked a fire and basically contributed to the public opinion. And finally, we have my theory. Do I believe that O.J. Simpson killed his ex-wife and her friend? Yes. And this is why. Basically, my first thing is his motive. Like I mentioned earlier, Nicole reported that O.J. had a history of domestic violence and she eventually filed for divorce. And I believe this made O.J. upset and played a role later in her demise. And as we go through his timeline and alibi, O.J. originally claimed to be at home during the time of the murder. However, there were lots of inconsistencies in his alibi and some witness testimonies during the trial said otherwise. And then we have the infamous Bronco Chase, which basically speaks for itself. I mean, he's running away from law enforcement. And during the trial, just his behavior and statements, like inconsistent statements to the police and people noted during the trial that he lacked any emotion or even concern when talking about the death of Nicole and Ron. And the Bronco Chase can also be put into this category as well for suspicious behavior. And then finally, we have the glove. The infamous saying, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. For the leather gloves found at the crime scene that many believe O.J. wore when he killed his ex-wife and friend. And basically, you can see in this picture, he tried to put on the gloves, but they didn't fit. And I believe they didn't fit due to these two main reasons. Leather gloves tend to shrink when they're exposed to like moisture, such as blood, which definitely shrunk the size of the gloves when O.J. tried to put them on so they wouldn't fit. And he also reportedly lost weight since the time of the crime scene and the murders, which could have affected the glove fit as well. All right, everyone. Well, thank you for listening.