Everything old was new again on Thursday, as people around the country tuned into what turned out to be a simulcast legal hearing involving OJ Simpson. I’m old enough – God, I’m old – to remember being in school and all the teachers turning on the TV so we could all watch the OJ Simpson verdict come in back in 1995. The trial was covered wall-to-wall on the growing cable news stations, as well as network TV. This was before blogs were really a thing, so all we really had were endless talking heads, night after night, giving analysis on what had happened in court that day. Careers were made and destroyed with that case. But that case didn’t have much to do with the criminal charges that eventually sent OJ Simpson to jail.
In 2007, OJ Simpson and a group of his friends pulled off an armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotel. The circumstances around the robbery were fishy, and you can read more about it here. Simpson was found guilty of ten different charges in 2008, charges which included felony burglary, first degree kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. He was eventually sentenced for a maximum of 33 years, with parole available after nine years. His first parole hearing was Thursday, and all of the old talking heads came out to discuss OJ and all of this mess. Even though OJ was a total mess during the hearing – he honestly didn’t seem all that eager to leave prison, quite honestly – it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Nevada was going to grant him parole. And that’s what happened:
O.J. Simpson will soon be a free man. Again. A four-member parole board in Carson City, Nev., voted unanimously Thursday to curtail his 33-year prison sentence for kidnapping and armed robbery, stemming from a confrontation over sports memorabilia in Las Vegas in 2007. The football legend and serial abuser, now 70 years old, could be released as soon as Oct. 1 into a world that’s still fascinated by his plummet from grace.
As the proceedings got underway around 10 a.m., Nevada time, a smiling Simpson entered the hearing room at the Lovelock Correctional Center dressed in a light blue shirt with billowy sleeves, his hair splotched white, his voice gravelly. Seated at a desk with his attorney, Simpson was by turns affable and testy, humbled and defiant.
“I always thought I’ve been pretty good with people,” Simpson told the board by video link, “and have basically spent a conflict-free life.”
The board did not press him on that assertion, despite Simpson’s history of domestic violence, and its members made clear that they were not relitigating his trial and acquittal for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson’s eldest daughter, Arnelle Simpson, and one of Simpson’s victims from the Vegas case testified in support of his release.
“I’ve known O.J. for a long time,” said Bruce Fromong, a memorabilia dealer whom Simpson confronted with five other men, two of whom were armed. “I don’t feel that he’s a threat to anyone out there. He’s a good man. . . . I feel that it’s time to give him a second chance.”
I watched the last half of the hearing and I wasn’t particularly impressed by any of the players. OJ came across as an unapologetic douche, someone who would never and will never take responsibility for his actions. His daughter seemed self-pitying. His lawyer seemed inept. And the one character witness was just a preening a–hole. As for a 70-year-old OJ being let loose on the world again… God help us all. As much as I want to believe that people are capable of change, and that prison can make a dude chill out a bit, I don’t think that’s the case here. In fact, I’d put money on the idea that OJ will violate parole within one year of his release.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Yea he lied when he said he’s never been violent with someone. OJ is not a good man and I wish people would stop pretending he is. He got away with murder
@nicole
+1,000
I can’t imagine how the Brown and Goldman families feel seeing this. He’s gotten away with so much. And CNN gave this way too much coverage yesterday. We already know to stay far away from OJ. God help his next girlfriend.
What a crying shame. This is a person who has no business in society ever.
OJ is a bad man. He probably did get away with murder.
However he was acquitted in the murder case. He was never tried for domestic violence. And the reason he was convicted this time was because he tried to rob some guys of his own property at gun point. The conviction was correct but the sentencing was not. 33 years under these facts was clearly the result of a judge punishing him for a crime he had been acquitted of. Even setting aside the mitigating facts (his memorabilia; no past convictions; his age), this was a pretty harsh sentence for the crime.
Why should any of this matter? Because its dangerous for a judge to misuse their sentencing discretion to punish you for a crime that a jury of your peers acquitted you for. This is why you end up with such weird sentencing disparies between black and latino drug offenders on one side and white drug offenders on the other. The judge assumes that the latino and black kids must be guilty of something that isnt on paper and punishes them for these too.
I’m not pleased to defend OJ here but the broader principle will always be bigger than one man because that principle is what protects me and you from a vigilante judge. Parole board did the right thing to look at ONLY the relevant facts
Great post Ramona, this have to be said.
Yep, not a fan of this man at ALL, but, he was improperly sentence for the crime in which he is in prison for at this moment. Believing that he is a murderer and he should stay in jail is fine and good but he was not convicted of murder and earned his parole according to The board.. .I wish the The prosecution had done a better job in his 1st Instead of trying to keep him behind bars for who he is, not what he was convicted for.
THIS. I am no fan of OJ at all. I believe he murdered Nicole Simpson. But that entire circus was irrelevant to his parole because he was, like or not, acquitted of murder. They did what they were supposed to do, which was to judge his parole on his current sentence, not the case from 1994. We might not like it, but they followed the law.
Thank you, Ramona. That was very well-said. I go back to Jeffrey Toobin’s quote: “It’s the perfect irony of the Simpson case that he was acquitted of the crime that he was guilty of and he was convicted of a crime he’s innocent of.”
Yea I know him being released was right. Doesn’t negate the fact that he is a horrible person and he DID lie when he said he loved a conflict free life. That’s what my comment was based around
Hear, hear, Ramona! I wasn’t a fan, but I was horrified at the result of the burglary trial. At most, he was an accessory. He didn’t have the gun, he didn’t threaten anyone and there are exceptions under the law for recovering your own property. This was a judge who took the law into her own hands.
I agree with you cognitively and always thought the sentencing for the robbery was skewed due to his history. But emotionally I called it karma because the judge did what the cali jury did…..payback for something unrelated to the issue in front of them.
I don’t think karmas done yet.
And I’m ok with that.
@LMAO, I know Marcia Clark and Chris Darden have tried to behave as if the jury was just made up of mindless black people who wanted payback for Rodney King, but I don’t think that’s a completely fair assessment. The jury’s task was to convict him of murder beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense did a great job poking holes in the prosecution’s argument, especially regarding Mark Fuhrman. I definitely think OJ is guilty, but having a racist cop at the scene who may have tampered with evidence certainly would’ve given me pause, if not reasonable doubt. Clark & Darden did a poor job with what should’ve been a slam dunk case. That’s why OJ got off.
I just finished the documentary “OJ: Made in America” and one of the jurors being interviewed says in no uncertain terms that the not guilty verdict WAS payback for Rodney King. That was one juror saying it, but the fact remains that you can’t say that Clark and Darden made that up when one of the jurors admits it outright on camera in an Oscar winning documentary.
They completely discarded on scene DNA evidence and inserted “reasonable doubt ” by suggesting it was planted with not a single shred of proof about it being planted.
Yes it was acquittal in response to Rodney king, Everyone knows that and pretending otherwise doesn’t alter that fact.
Mark Furhman could NOT have tampered with the evidence because he arrived at OJ’s house AFTER the other officers, so he could not have planted the bloody sock or the glove at OJ’s home.
OJ had a history of beating Nicole. He had a history of threatening her life. He was seen leaving the scene when he ran a red light. He had forensic evidence in his home and his car. He left evidence at the crime scene. There is no “reasonable” doubt here.
He was convicted of the murders in civil court. In the robbery case, were they allowed to factor in a history of violence (civil conviction, domestic assault arrests, etc.)?
I agree. People have said what about Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman? Well, folks, he was acquitted of those charges. Even in the face of the civil judgment for wrongful death, the robbery charges are his only criminal convictions. And apparently he was been a “model prisoner”, so according to the law, he gets released early. No, I don’t like him either and I think he killed Nicole and Ron but the law is what it is. And he is getting out because of it.
I 100% agree. And for the comments that said he doesn’t need to be out in society lets go back in time what about the police in the Rodney King beating??? They have been walking around free as a bird. Only god and person or persons who committed the horable murder of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson but OJ was not found guilty by a jury and what does it say about our judicial system if we then hold someone guilty of a crime they were not found guilty for. The hole judicial system would then have to be ripped apart. He was sentenced for the crime he got away with not of the crime he got caught participating in. Which is wrong. I’m not a fan of OJ but I try to be a fan of our judicial system when everyone that takes part in it does so by the law without prejudice.
Thank you. And it’s not like he’s a menace to society – don’t date the guy and you have nothing to worry about.
I hate to sound flippant but he beat his ex-wife (which is all too common unfortunately), he was tried and acquitted for the murder of his ex, and he stole some of his memorabilia.
I personally don’t care for him, but even I’ll admit that he’s not really a danger or menace to society.
Murderer, armed robbery, and loves to beat women. Yup, no menace here. You serious?
Arent there police records of domestic abuse? Nicole called them several times. But rich man…
Actually OJ was convicted of domestic violence/spousal battery in 1989. He got some community service, 2 years on parole and paid 200$ to the court and 500$ to a women’s shelter. I think he was supposed to enter a program as well- his choice of course.
Nicole got a trip to the hospital after being beaten and this after she had called the police 8 times prior to this incident.
Yes. Many police recordings of her crying and O.J. yelling, all the pictures of her bruised, and her journals and letters telling friends that he was going to kill her, and then the double murder.Must be nice to be a rich and famous man who gets away with all of that
I don’t dispute that he got away with murder. However, the sentence for the armed robbery was not fair. The tried to incarcerate him for the murder instead of the armed robbery. If America can start applying laws equally without the racial and judicial bias, you will avoid the OJ mess. Yep, he will be back in jail in a year or two.
I have a friend in Napa who met OJ and a few other celebrities years ago in Hawaii when he was at the height of his fame. She and her husband played tennis with him said he was one of the nicest people she’d ever met.
I think he’s one of those people who are different with different people. If you’re one of his friends/buddies, he is probably one of the best friends you could wish for.
I also think if you were Nicole, he was your worst nightmare.
@ Sherry Phillips : I was a lawyer who had clients from different battered women’s shelters. I met many of their husbands-boyfriends in court. All “beaters” (as I call them) have the same veneer of being such great guys. It’s all part of their big cover up and they have worked on it all their lives. They likely saw their fathers do the same thing when they were growing up. Oozing charm until the front door closed and then the real person came out. Always the same excuses, always the same lies and self-pity. Now I can spot them from a mile away.
I notice that neither of OJ’s children with Nicole (Sydney and Justin) were at the hearing.
Read Jeffrey Toobin’s book and the state was a hot mess. He is guilty, 100%, and is a sociopath hands down. So much so when the cops would come to scene after he beat Nicole black and blue, they chuckled up with him and jsut would let him go. He operated that way yesterday, had the parole board laughing. OJ is a lesson for all women in what to look for in dating an abusive sociopath.
A basically conflict free life? Maybe for him, but surely not for the people around him.
Yeah, conflict free, minus that whole double murder thing.
I’m sure this is a hard day for the victims’ families and loved ones. Knowing he is yet again free has to be very difficult.
I just read a DAILY BEAST article noting the grotesque coincidence of the OJ parole and a report from the CDC happening on the same day. The report shows that 55% of women murdered are killed by their male partners. But I think we already knew that.
I have worked for women’s shelters and it’s heart breaking. More resources need to be allocated to end domestic violence.
That is a stomach-churning statistic. If the CDC were funded properly and violence was studied as a public health hazard, this data would be evidence of an epidemic. Many researchers have tried to advance studies showing we are in a public health crisis with violence against women and children, but the men in power always shut down this line of reasoning and refuse funding. In fact, much of the purposeful erosion of education by the GOP is designed to prevent study of violence and power, so that they can continue to rule over everyone. An ignorant populace is a controlled populace.
@It’s not just the men. After all, more than half of white women voters backed Trump, despite the allegations of sexual misconduct made against him. If their racism and internalized patriarchy dictate their vote perhaps we’d see a different result, especially considering that more than 90 percent of black women saw through Trump and voted for Clinton.
I am very pleased that OJ has been released from prison. He did the time for the crime and I hope he lives a drama free life once he gets out.
What? Seriously? He didn’t do enough time for all of his crimes! This asswipe is a monster!
what people are angry about is that he did not do time for killing two people. However he has done his time for the crime in which he is serving.
He is a monster. The parole board was not allowed to consider the murder case. As much as people don’t like it in this particular case, the parole board has to follow the law.
While I wouldn’t say I’m pleased, I think considering the facts of this case alone (which is what the parole board had to do), granting parole was the appropriate choice. I think the stat was around 85% of convicts in Nevada are granted parole. So, it would have been odd if OJ remained behind bars because his hearing didn’t go awfully. The earlier part of his hearing made me roll my eyes (especially when he got indignant about “his stuff”), but it definitely got better as time went on.
@Iris, maybe you don’t know O.J.so history. This woman beating, murderer should be in prison for forever
Everyone is aware of his history. But that isn’t what he is in jail for. I think we can agree that she should have gone to jail for his killing two people. But he was not.
As stated by some great posters, OJ did his time for this crime. That is all.
If were convicted of woman-beating and murdering, then yes. However, he was overcharged for this crime and then oversentenced. The people who actually had the guns were granted parole and time served for testifying against OJ. The mullet dude who recorded the whole thing then sold the tape to TMZ for $150,000 set OJ up for a payday for himself. He told OJ this guy had personal property of his, and he only had some memorabilia. Because the guy was not told it was OJ coming, he brought some other memorabilia from other sports stars, so when OJ’s accomplices bagged all of it up without looking at what it was, they charged OJ with theft of THAT property as well. It was wrong what happened to Nicole and Ron Goldman in every way. But if this is how the justice system works (over-charging and over-sentencing), God help us all.
I don’t understand though why you’d be “very pleased” he was released? Unless you were related to him and had a stake in this……?
@Georgia, I was pleased too because I didn’t think the parole board would do the right thing, but they did. I’m a black woman who wants the legal system to work fairly. A disproportionate amount of men and women of color serve time for crimes they didn’t commit, so while I do believe OJ murdered his wife and her friend, it would have been unjust to keep him in prison for a crime of which he was acquitted. He was over-sentenced for this memorabilia fiasco, and I think the judge who handed down the sentence abused her power.
“I hope he lives a drama free life”
Yes, because raging, violent narcissists with a history of getting away with crimes are usually so good at being drama free.
What I hope for is that he doesn’t kill anyone else.
Even discounting the double murder, there are plenty of police reports showing that he beat Nicole Simpson, and definitely hasn’t led a “mostly conflict-free life.” So, yeah, he lied during his parole hearing. The guy is a classic charming psychopath.
Just because he’s 70 doesn’t mean he isn’t still capable of inflicting a bunch of misery and pain on people if they do something he doesn’t like. And that bar seems to be set awfully low.
Unfortunately, 9 years is probably all the time he will ever spend behind bars.
I was working in a law firm in NYC when the verdict came in. And everyone — including the partners — did the unthinkable and stopped work to gather around a tv.
When the verdict was announced, every lawyer just silently shook their head and sighed as they turned and walked out.
What they didn’t believe he was guilty of the robbery and sent to jail?
@Singreess, I’m assuming they were all white, and I’m wondering how many of them would stop work to watch the verdict of any of the black men and women killed by police and nutjobs like George Zimmerman or the man who killed Jordan Davis. That is the problem with American society. I even wonder how many cared that Robert Blake killed his wife. The reason they cared is because a black man not only had the nerve to have this beautiful white wife but to kill her, all of which he could’ve been lynched for just a few decades earlier. Let’s face the fact that racism is what makes white people so riled up about the OJ verdict. People get murdered every single day, and there is no white outpouring of interest and disgust like there was with the OJ case.
People were riveted by the OJ case, because the crime was shocking. Most of us knew OJ as a happy, positive and likeable football star. He was always upbeat and nice to everyone he encountered. The fact that this nice American athlete was capable of committing such a heinous crime was mind-blowing.
All the public knew of OJ was the facade. Until the murders, we didn’t know about the domestic violence issues. We didn’t know the other OJ. The gruesomeness of the murder made it all that more sensational.
A celebrity with mafia ties having their wife shot is a far cry from an American “hero” who almost decapitates his ex-wife and stabs the bodies of two people so horribly it leaves a “river of blood.”
“racism is what makes white people so riled up about the OJ verdict”
Her head was nearly cut off. Have you heard the recordings where she begs police to save her because he’s beating the shit out of her? HOW can a person listen to that recording and NOT get “riled up” about a person beating and killing 2 people with impunity?
@ WTW : No, it was not race. Beaters of all colours get me riled up. I tried to read the book “Next Time She’ll Be Dead” (about domestic abuse) but it made me so very angry that I had to stop reading it.
Tiffany and Still: if you think white people would have been so upset about that verdict if OJ had been married to a black woman, there is some oceanfront property in Idaho I’ll sell to you cheap.
I was in law school during the televising of the trial and articling when the verdict was announced. Every litigator crammed into our lounge and watched the verdict on TV. Unlike your firm though, almost everyone in the room was convinced there would be an acquittal because regardless of what people believed happened, the prosecution had not met the burden of proof. It was something I have always remembered. And the burden of proof is there for a reason – you don’t remove someone’s liberties without that safeguard.
I watched the trial in college. When Fuhrman took the stand and pleaded the 5th, I knew that was it for the prosecution. They asked him if he planted the evidence in this case and he replied that he was taking the 5th! If I were on a jury and I saw that, I’d assume the answer was “Yes, I planted the evidence.” The jury didn’t get to watch TV and see what we all saw. I can’t believe the prosecution allowed the defense to ask Fuhrman so many questions instead of just stipulating that they understood he’d plead the 5th to any and all questions. It was absolutely awful. I don’t know how any jury could not have had reasonable doubt after Fuhrman did that.
A good man he is not. Seems fitting that in a world where Trump is POTUS, OJ is paroled.
Esmom, sobering words indeed.
This is exactly what went through my mind, Esmom.
Maybe they’ll play golf together.
I’m no American and I’ve just heard vaguely about that case (didn’t know the details) until this year and the mini-series with Cuba Gooding Jr and Courtney B. Vance. So I’m just asking : could OJ somehow suffer from concussion due to his profession? His behavior seems off to me. Any thoughts?
Yeah, I’ve heard this before. It’ll be interesting to see if his years in football contributed to some of his anger issues and violence. He or his family would have to give his brain to research upon his death to see, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he suffers from CTE. I think he’s a horrible & violent person in general, but consistently getting hit by playing football for so long probably didn’t help imo.
You should watch the documentary ‘OJ Made in America’. Much, MUCH better than the mini series or many essays / commentary on OJ. Devastating too.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HrB3rOcrJxg
Thank you LAK, I’ll watch.
OJ Made in America is definitely worth watching – just wanted to leave a note about some very graphic content contained in the documentary- be prepared. I think this content was blurred out in some screenings, although not when I watched, and all I can say is those images will stay with me for a long time.
OJ Made in America is ESPN at its finest, although really only the first hour is sports related. It’s both immersive and hypnotizing in its scope. Prior to watching it, my memories of him were only related to the trial as an older Millennial. His trial was the first major 24/7 news event. The revelatory part for me was how OJ was the first African-American athlete to effectively capitalize on his athletic fame for endorsements and commercial ventures because of how his public persona clicked with white America.
If you don’t want to watch the graphic content in that doc, Buzzfeed’s Unsolved (which is actually a really awesome series) did an episode on the murders and OJ’s trial. Really interesting!
You can’t use that as an excuse. He made choices to be violent with Nicole and nice to others around him. If brain damage made him abnormally violent, he would have been that way with everyone, not just Nicole.
I don’t mean to excuse anything by my question.
Good Lord President Putin Phillips…People are allowed to ask questions…sheesh!!!!
It’s fine to ask questions, I just hate it when people try to excuse inexcusable behavior by explaining it away as though the person couldn’t control themselves. OJ managed to control himself around a lot of people. He didn’t commit murder because of a head injury. He committed murder because he is a narcissistic sociopath who couldn’t handle rejection by his ex-wife.
That has nothing to do with her question. His relationship with Nicole was much more emotionally charged so you can’t compare things that way. There is evidence he was violent his first marriage despite the denials. It isn’t the fault of his concussions but could it have added to it is a legit question. Brain damage is a serious problem in football.
I always thought concussions and resulting brain damage may have played a role.
What is his relationship like with the children he had with Nicole ? They seemed to drop out of sight and it is rather telling that they were not at his parole hearing.
I saw a clip of his daughter there actually! She said he’s her best friend and her rock. I found this disturbing as he probably killed her mom, and couldn’t watch anymore
I thought that was his daughter by his first wife? Was his daughter by Nicole there as well? He is so disgusting.
I think that was his daughter from his first marriage who was in court
Thanks guys! Didn’t realize he was married before Nicole. I was maybe 8-10 when this happens. I feel a bit better now. It would be seriously weird for Nicole’s kids to see him as a best friend, in my opinion
I read somewhere online that his relationship with them “was not clear,”. I’m pretty sure there were enough ties to Nicole’s family, and pics of them at a cousins wedding from that side…..so, from that, I have assumed he doesn’t have (OJ) doesn’t have much of a relationship with them as adults.
Now he can continue his search for Nicole’s real killer. He’ll look on every golf course in the world if he has to!
He’s moving to Florida, so maybe he’ll golf with Trump while searching for the murderer
This doesn’t just impact OJ though. It sends a loud and clear message that such cases are not taken seriously in a world where violence against women and children is at an all time high. The punishments need to be harsh to deter others. Unfortunately, they aren’t.
I don’t want to defend this guy AT ALL because I believe he killed his wife and got away with it, but this sentence was not about the murder, it was about the robbery.
Harsher sentences do not deter others from committing offences. Now I’m not saying every criminal should just walk free – of course not – but they need to be rehabilitated while incarcerated, not just locked up. That’s the problem with a lot of criminal justice systems, they just lock people up, which doesn’t solve the problem, it merely removes someone for a period of time from society before releasing them back into the same society. Some reoffend, some don’t.
Sadly he will never serve the time he should’ve served for taking 2 people’s lives, but that can’t influence a separate offence.
It also sends a message to the police and the prosecution…Do your G@ddamn jobs properly. No shortcuts, no fudging, no trying to make the evidence fit the crime just because you know the defendant is a scuzz bucket…Do your jobs diligently and with dedication to get justice without resorting to shady tactics…ahem Fuhrman.. Just saying. This was a slam dank case…people should be blaming the prosecution. And anyway the law is not meant to be emotional…unfortunately human beings are…if the law was based on emotion we all would be truly f*cked.
Everyone knows that he killed Nicole and Ron. However the reality of that case is that the police made significant errors that led to acquittal. Someone like Mark Fuhrman never should have been on a police force anywhere. LAPD knew he was a bigot and did nothing about it. The police should have processed to crime scene properly and they didn’t.
Furhman became the perfect scapegoat. His bigotry and hatred fell right in Simpson’s lap. Simpson is insane. He was so jealous of anyone that got near Nicole, he literally almost beheaded her while their little children were asleep in the house, so as not to let anyone else have her. And poor Ron Goldman, talk about bad luck, returning Nicole’s mother’s glasses, only to walk onto the murder scene and lose his life so horrifically. But, O.J. said he’s led an uneventful life. He is a pathological, egotistical psychopath who got away with murder. Too bad he lost nine years for another crime boo effen hoo. I like to visualize him from the movie Ghost where the demons take him straight to hell. Bon Voyage.
The state was a hot mess. They neglected evidence they should have presented, didn’t give Clark the resources she needed and just free floated it because they thought it was a “in the bag case”. Also the scene it self wasn’t properly handled and searched. Mark Fhurman, whatever, yes he was a racist but that in no way should factored in with the physical evidence & facts that were presented in the case. He should have been fired but his racism shouldn’t have cleared OJ of the crime when there was tons of physical evidence found. Also it was that dang glove that freed OJ, it sealed the deal, there was no way for the state to win the case after the glove.
The problem with those gloves was:
1. Being leather, after having dried from the wetness of the blood, they “shrank”.
2. They were tried on OVER latex gloves, making the “fit” smaller.
3. It was said that he was told to stop his arthritis medication, making his hands swell, which also threw off the fit.
I still believe that even if they fit like Cinderella’s glass slipper he still would not have been convicted. This jury was out to acquit from the get-go.
Fuhrman shouldn’t have factored in, but in context, it makes sense that he did. This is a city where the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King on camera were acquitted. Then Mark Fuhrman is asked on the stand if he planted evidence and he takes the 5th. How could they NOT have reasonable doubt? And this was in addition to Darden making the colossal error of asking OJ to try on the gloves and Fung handling evidence from the crime scene without wearing gloves. The prosecution blew that case. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. With both hands (and no gloves).
I feel very conflicted about this.
On the one hand, I am still very outraged about the Brown and Goldman verdict. OJ got away with murder. Period.
But on the other hand he was acquitted. Breakdowns in so many areas of the justice system I cannot even begin – the protections for DV victims/survivors, crime scene investigation, celebrity justice (or lack thereof). I just …
I was just watching (re-watching) O.J. Made in America. So much of that documentary remains true today. Everything about that case, from OJ’s buddy-buddy relationship with the LAPD, the Bronco “chase”, which was more of a motorcade, the jury system. How celebrities/wealthy/famous people are treated in the justice system.
I thought to myself as I watched people use OJ’s sports achievements/celebrity as reasons for their disbelief in his guilt – that OJ (and similar celebrity injustice) really was the precursor for much of what we see today.
Anyway, despite my anger and frustration, his parole is not about the murders of Nicole and Ron. I cannot speak to the legalities of the robbery and kidnapping and whether this case and parole meets the burden for that but in the eyes of the court, he was acquitted of the double murder. It pisses me off but that is reality. Yes, there is the civil matter but civil court is different from criminal court.
But IMO, OJ would probably have a quieter life in prison. The outside world will have its pound of flesh. I hate to say it but OJ killed a white woman (I doubt all this anger would be raised if this were about OJ’s first wife who was black). This is Trump’s America and the bigots are not hiding anymore. I see him being harassed, probably worse.
And I don’t say that with sympathy. He is a wife beater and all round a$$ and he shows no remorse.
He has only delayed the justice that should have been delivered all those years ago.
Oh well, this tragedy is really endless for all.
I just read in an article that he and the parole board were having a few jokes and the parole board ‘burst out laughing a couple of times’. How is that professional? It seems like the parole board were starstruck. Would a parole board ‘burst out laughing’ with ordinary people? No, they’d be stoic and professional.
I know nothing about parole boards as we don’t have them here. Not in the same way. But almost everyone who’s ever talked about Simpson in public says one thing: The man is a one-man charm offensive. He draws you in, he makes you feel important and he just seems like a great guy. I personally think that he probably deludes himself into thinking he’s just a nice, chill guy. Which means he can convince others.
It’s not professional at all. But it goes with what we’ve heard for years, that this man is a major charmer and somehow gets people to fawn over him even when he’s clearly not a good person.
This is a point explored in the ‘OJ Made in America’ doc.
His childhood friends discuss at length how he’d charm his way out of anything even when caught red-handed.
And every talking head keeps repeating it.
This conviction is probably the first time he wasn’t able to charm/talk his way out, but there was an atmosphere of vengence for getting acquitted for the murder trial at play here.
It says something that many, if not all, his prison colleagues and jailers have very good things to say about him.
Speaks to the charm of the man.
Charming people can get away with a lot.
Exactly LAK! That doc was really good and eye-opening but also really upsetting.
From what I saw, the only time they laughed was when one of the parole board said his age was 90 instead of 70. She corrected herself, they laughed, OJ said he feels 90, they laughed. That was it.
^ It’s a pretty grim and heavy job I’d imagine they find moments of levity when they can including their own mistakes.
The only good thing that can come out of this crap is that he will be able to make a little bit of money by selling his autograph and by making personal appearances which in turn he will be forced to hand over to the Goldman family because he literally owes them millions of dollars. I imagine that family will make his life miserable outside of prison, at least I hope they do.
According to the documentary ‘OJ Made in America’ he’s never stopped making money via his signature and memorabilia.
Well, I hope the Goldman family is getting a piece of that pie…or all of it.
He is SO arrogant & smug it’s repulsive beyond measure. He seriously gave me Bill Cosby vibes during that hearing, ugh. I need a shower
RIGHT.OMG!!!!!!!!!He is so damn smug!..Every time he smiled I felt sick to my stomach..URGH!!!!!!!!!!
OJ loose in the social media age. This is going to be great. I smell a reality show, possibly one where Detective Simpson goes out in search of Nicole and Ron’s killers. Maybe something with the Kardashians, maybe Kris can have and affair with OJ to pump up the ratings. Can’t wait
A reality show of sorts was tried with him many years ago and in the end it was edited down to a one time pay per view thing.
Watching the two women on the parole board flirt with him made me sick to my stomach. “oh do you remember me from your last hearing?” *giggle* UGH it so was awful
I knew he was getting paroled but he screwed his hearing up. He couldnt answer a simple yes/no question and kept ranting about the case (which he was already convicted for), he didnt complete any of the classes, and claimed to be a non violent individual. I predict he will violate his parole AND be in a high profile relationship by christmas
What got to me was OJ saying “I’ve served my time”. OJ, you have served your time behind bars but you still have many years of parole ahead of you and will still have to behave accordingly. It won’t surprise me if he violates that parole at some point and winds up back behind bars. Just because you are released from prison does NOT mean you are “free” until you have met all of the terms of your parole. He also spent more time looking at the guy he robbed testifying on his behalf than he spent looking at his own daughter during her testimony.
Here’s a fun tidbit about this case: Remember Ashley (A-Bomb) from Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels? Well, her mother was his defense attorney in this case and helped him get paroled. Crazy, huh.
tell me more!!
I was listening to the radio yesterday and they talked about that OJ gets a 300,000 dollar pension from the NFL and they owe him back pension because he was in prison, so he won’t be struggling in Florida. His estate has never paid the Goldman’s millions of dollars that they won in a wrongful death civil suit. He has kept his money well hidden in Florida.
That is untouchable in most civil cases. Irritating as it is.
There is something crazy about the luck put upon this man’s head all his adult life, the second trial and his child ‘s death excepted…
Being the right man at the right time for white America, Afro-Americans, rich people looking for a token black friend, celebrity thirsty people ,etc… has led him far, and saved him from the worst.
There is an amazing article in ampaste magazine called The Election of Trump and the Trial of OJ Are Mirror Events. Extremely insightful.
I cannot with white people’s outrage over OJ. He’s every white persons go to when they want to be outraged about our criminal justice system. On the other hand black people can name 100’s of black American’s who have been denied justice by that same system or victimized by it.
There was some lady at my job bitching about this and how it was so unfair and I’m like, welcome to my world.
Exactly! 22 years later, and they’re still bitching about O.J. Meanwhile, just a few years after the murder of 12 year old Tamir Rice, and not a damn peep!😡
@patty
The justice system is unfair to people of color. The Tamir Rice shooting was inexcusable.
That said, OJ is a murderer and a wife beater, and as a woman, you should not make excuses for this. See also: Peterson, Scott and Macdonald, Dr Jeff. Almost decapitating your wife while your children sleep upstairs has nothing to do with race. Getting away with murder because of your wealth is why people of all colors are disgusted with OJ.
I think she has a fair point about white people and OJ. As a white person, “justice” at the hands of the system is a given, but that is not the experience of black Americans. Not even NOW, over 20 years after OJ. It reminds me of the Chappelle/Chris Rock sketch about Trump’s election on SNL, or the “Lemons” episode of Blackish. To paraphrase, white people are so accustomed to things going “our way,” that we are outraged when they don’t. But people of color in this country have the opposite experience and can’t help but be annoyed with our self-righteous anger when ONE time justice seems miscarried.
Well, at least he got some punishment, even if it was for something else.
I don’t think anyone is excusing OJ. I’m just saying it’s very telling that 24 years later, white people still hold up OJ as the epitome of someone who has gotten away with something, meanwhile time marches on and there are plenty of more recent things to be extremely outraged by and nothing.
But OJ gets paroled (as he should) and people are up in arms. No one has forgotten that OJ was / is a wife beater. No one has forgotten that he was acquitted of two murders he is most likely guilty of. Simple fact though he was in prison for murder and his sentence was excessive to begin with.