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OJ Simpson's Trial: The Affects of Racism and Media Portrayal

Introduction

The case of OJ Simpson is based on the murder of his x-wife and her boyfriend. OJ Simpson had divorced his wife Nicole Brown Simpson in 1992. On June 12 1994, Nicole and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman were found dead at their apartment. Both the victims have suffered multiple stabs, which resulted in their death. Their home was situated at Centinela Avenue in the district city of Los Angeles California. The children of Simpson and Nicole were sleeping when the incident happened. The evidence found at the crime scene pointed at Simpson as the potential murderer. The LAPD was convinced to receive the culprit at 11 am, although the charge was non-bail able. Form this point; the case became one of the most extensively covered stories in the media. The case has been associated with racism by many commentators.

Racism in the Trial

Before analyzing the affects of racism on the case, let's study the composition of jury for the case. The Jury constitution by Race included 9 Blacks, 2 Whites, 1 Hispanic; The Jury by Sex: 10 Women, 2 Men; the Jury by Education: 9 High School Graduates, 2 College Graduates, 1 Without Diploma (Chidley, pp.69).

The composition of jury suggests a racial dimension to the case. One factor, which influenced the composition of jury strongly, was the decision of the prosecution to file the case of OJ in LA downtown, instead of filling in the judicial district (Santa Monica). If the case was filled in Santa Monica, the jury would have consisted of the white majority. According to the polls conducted by some media houses, most of the white Americans believed that Simpson was guilty, and the majority of Blacks voted that he was innocent. This result highlights the influence of racism in the case.

The Discrimination of Jury - as Viewed by White Americans

The defense tried to ambush the prosecution calling witnesses surprise. Under existing law in California, both the prosecution and the defense must disclose to the other party any information relating to the witnesses who will appear. Defense ignored this law, and Judge Ito, ignored the requests of the prosecution, who had to cope with unexpected witnesses.

The defense discredited the physical evidence gathered by the prosecution, citing alleged procedural deficiencies raised doubts about the reliability of evidence. For example, the blood sample Simpson provided during his visit to the police had been transported for hours instead of immediately delivered to the laboratory. As a result, the sample was questioned, which allegedly was used to contaminate the crime scene and incriminate Simpson.

The Racial Discrimination - as Viewed by Black Americans

On the other hand, the notion of racism comes from the fact that there have been instances in the Justice system of US where black people were discriminated. Many Blacks believe that if Simpson's wife was Black and not White, the case would have never received such attention as it did. To support these arguments, the attention is brought to other ...