How the heck did OJ Simpson get away with those murders?

Question

I've recently read a bunch of books on the OJ Simpson-Nicole Simpson thing.

The evidence was all there, and the phone calls Nicole made to 911 that showed that he was a crazy, psycho freak.

And the thing that gets me is that he was found guilty for the murders in one court thingy, and all they did was give him a fine? Aren't they supposed to JAIL you if your found guilty?!?

I'm getting really worked up about this.

So, how many of you think that OJ did get away with the murders?

Answer 1

He had the money and the fame to get the  best lawyers.

Answer 2

Hi,

Simple answer, 'the power of money and fame'

Yes i believe he did it

Answer 3

Capital punishment. Them with the capital don't get the punishment.

Answer 4

There are a lot of reasons he was able to get away with it. I have to admit that the news of his acquittal did not surprise me. Here are the main ones:

He is a celebrity

He is rich

He was able to afford the best lawyers

The jury in his trial was handpicked and consisted mainly of women who were sympathetic towards him

The jury loved him

They did not like the prosecuting team

They did not understand much of the nature of the evidence presented to them or disregarded it entirely

The judge was starstruck and had little control over what went on in his courtroom

The defense team knew everything that was going on

The prosecuting team made some huge blunders such as the one where OJ tried on a bloody glove and it didn't fit. Actually, it did fit but shrank after being soaked in blood and drying out.

The defense team played the race card shamelessly

There were racial tensions as a result of the Rodney King verdict and the resulting riots

You're right, he did get away with murder.

Answer 5

3 ways... $, $, and more $.Its got nothing to do with if you're white or black.

Answer 6

Mostly black jury

Answer 7

He had about $30,000,000 and used it to buy the best lawyers in the country.

He was a very popular celebrity beforehand.

He (actually his lawyers) played the race card.

And, the prosecution put on a really, really, S****y case.

Answer 8

I also believe that he got away with murder.  I saw an interview with some of the jurors after the trial and if they had heard some of the evidence  (that had been disallowed) during the trial and not afterwards their decision would have been guilty.

Answer 9

they didnt prove he was guilty....he paid 4 such a goood lawyer that his lawyer pointed out  that the gloves he was wearin didnt fit because they shrunk because the blood made them shrink...and they couldnt prove that he was wearin them

Answer 10

The prosecution did not prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.  When Dr. Henry Lee said something was wrong with the blood evidence that pretty much ended the case.  Also all the lies the prosecution witnesses were caught telling didn't help.

Answer 11

Good lawyers.

Answer 12

OJ was found Not Guilty in the criminal trial.  Then he was challenged in a civil suit for his "liability" in the deaths of the 2 people, and he was found Liable.  There is no jail sentence in civil trials; it is about money and property.  The burden of proof is also less.  In a criminal trial, the case has to be proved "beyond reasonable doubt," and the jury must be unanimous, for a guilty verdict.

In a civil case, the "preponderance of evidence" has to be that the person is liable; and 10 out of 12 jurors have to agree, not all of them.

The civil trial granted a large sum of money to the Goldman family; the Brown family did not join in the lawsuit.

Now as to how they decided he was Not Guilty in the criminal trial, that is a mystery to me too.  The evidence was overwhelming.  The defense made ridiculous moves to distract from the reality.  They seem to have worked.

Another troubling aspect of the case, one that is hard to talk about but was impossible to ignore at the time, was the racial divide in public response to the trial.  Many many people watched the trial on TV.  The majority of whites were convinced that OJ was guilty, while the majority of blacks were convinced that OJ was innocent, on the same evidence.    I remember visiting a very nice elderly black couple at the time.  Their comments were, "That poor boy (OJ), they are just ruining his life.   They didn't think he would fight back in court."  I had assumed that black people would be as aware as anybody else that it's possible for a black man to commit violence; but it seemed not.  

Believe me, a LOT of people were worked up over the case at the time.  I had long ago come to terms with the fact that injustice happens in life, so I wasn't so shocked.  

Some people thought (and they were probably right) that if OJ had been convicted in the criminal case, there would have been riots and more people would have died.  

I do think, beyond reasonable doubt, OJ is guilty of those two murders.  

The case had terrible consequences in other people's lives too, which I am not going to go into.

Answer 13

Yes, he did get away with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman.  His ex-friends say he admitted under the influence of drugs that he killed them but the admission is moot now in a court of law, since trying him for the same crime would be double jeopardy.

Better than nothing is that the Browns and the Goldmans have successfully won their share of his money for a long time in a civil trial.

Answer 14

OJ DID get away with murder...in a sense. He was found not-guilty in criminal court due to his good, smooth-talking defense attorneys and due to a stupid move by the prosecution (trying on the glove in court?? DUH! Blood would cause a leather glove to shrink!). However, he was found guilty in civil court. In civil court, it's not between parties and the state; it's parties against parties. The only punishments given usually are monetary. OJ will never again reap the benefits of being a celebrity football player and actor. They auctioned off his memories and Ron Goldman's father had OJs Heisman trophy melted down. He is constantly facing persecution from the public (most of the public anyway), and he is continuing to have legal problems due to his never-ending VIOLENT behavior. What goes around, comes around.