Oj Simpson Trial Essay

The criminal justice system ensures the safety and protection of society from criminal offenders. The process of the criminal justice system begins when a criminal offense is reported to law enforcement officials. If required, an investigation begins, leading to a warrant and arrest. Following the arrest, bail is set and a preliminary hearing is scheduled. If the defendant is indicted, a trial date is set. Providing the defendant does not waive the right to a jury trial, a

On June 12,1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered. Their bodies were discovered outside Nicole Simpson's condominium. Nicole Simpson was the estranged wife of the famous football player and T.V. star O.J. Simpson.

In his essay, “The Souls of the Black Folk” Du Bois (1903) states that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line,-the relation of the darker to lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea” (275). According to Appelrouth and Edles (2012: 269) “the color line is both a preexisting social and cultural structure and an internalized attitude”. In addition, they explain that the color line “addresses the historical and institutional (i.e., colonial) dimensions of race” (269).

In an attempt to counter the racist claims of the defense, the jury was selected and was mostly African American females (Gaines 2001). The district attorney of Los Angeles believed that an all white jury would be ineffective if Simpson were to be found guilty (Thernstrom & Fetter 1996). This outcome of the jury selection upset the Caucasian population because they felt as though the jury selection gave Simpson the upper hand in the trial regardless of the fact that the jury was majority female. The defense counsel was able to control the jury, in a sense through instilling in their minds that the LAPD was in fact racist. At the trial’s conclusion approximately 83% of blacks believed that Simpson was guilty, whereas only 37% of whites believed that Simpson was guilty (Thernstrom & Fetter 1996). These allegations also pushed the evidence collected from the crime to be discredited as well.

Famous celebrities are loved and adored by people in society, but many of the celebrities we loved are now recognized as tragic heroes. Tragic heroes that started off amazing and ended up with a downfall like death, prison sentence or troublemaking due to alcohol and drugs. One of these well known celebrities are O.J. Simpson is considered a tragic hero. The talented football sensation Orenthal J. Simpson is a tragic hero because he was known to be violent and made bad choices, leading to accusations of murder.

If a black woman had dark skin she would resemble a man, therefore making her ugly in society’s standards. This pressures black women to constantly be "compatible with the white female standard of beauty" (Ashe 580) in order to be socially accepted in society. Intuitively black women understood that in order to be considered desirable, the less black they had to look. This unfortunate perception of beauty stems from a long pattern of "sociohistorical racial injustices" (Bealer 312) towards darker skinned African Americans. Maria Racine states in her review that since slavery black people who approximated closer to whites were sexually sought after by black slave men and white plantation owners and were considered to live a somewhat "easy coexistence" because of their appearance (Racine 283). Since it’s start, colorism laid the pathway of racial prejudice towards dark skinned individuals. The result of treating dark African Americans as subhuman beings led to the altering of the black psyche by creating a "pervasive hierarchy" of beauty that black woman constantly combated or were forced to accept. (Bealer 312).

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

Simpson was vindicated for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend. Everyone was wondering how an elite football player could commit this abject crime. He is not guilty yet; however, he is most likely the murderer.

Orenthal James Simpson, as known as O.J. O.J. was accused of robbing his own memorabilia back in a Las Vegas hotel room on the night of September 13, 2007. O.J. along with a group of men were accused of breaking into the hotel room. O.J. is a retired American Football player also known for being acquitted for the murders of his Ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ron Goldman back in 1995. (2007-2008 State of Nevada v. Orenthal James Simpson)

Historical archives discovered by Dorman show that colorism had tangible boundaries within the African American community during the 1920s (47). It is stated that blacks often divided themselves into four subcategories which consisted of “black”, “brown”, “light brown”, and “yellow” Negros (Dorman 47). The above ranking would be listed in a hierarchy from “black” being at the bottom of the socially accepted hierarchy to the “yellow negro” being the most revered and desired socially.

"You never know someone until you've seen them behind closed doors". Orenthal O.J. Simpson lived a rough life growing but, instead of that taking over his life he decided to make a change by becoming a football hall of fame, actress/tv star and later being turned to a serial killer. Was the killing done out of love or spight? Or did he even do it?

Another cunning piece of evidence was the bloody glove found behind Nicole's house, that had fit O.J.'s hand and supposedly had blood in it, but when it was time to call the glove as evidence in the court room, there was no blood. This leads us into question about whether or not racism played a role in the lengthiest trial in United States history. With the help of a strong team of forensic experts, the lawyers were able to identify irregularities in the conduct of the investigation by LAPD detectives and forensic specialists. For example, one of the detectives Philip Vannatter, had carried a sample of Simpson's around with him for hours: and some of the blood taken from Simpson was unaccounted for. After much investigation, the defense team found evidence that Mark Fuhrman, the detective who allegedly found the bloody glove in Simpson's yard, was a raving racist who, contrary to his claim on the stand, frequently used the word “nigger” and had bragged about framing blacks, especially those involved

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.

The OJ Simpson case has been hailed "The Trial of the Century." One of the longest running court trials in history, this case was filled with conspiracy, controversy, and the power of celebrity. The biggest part of the trial was the evidence. The submission of the blood samples, the DNA testing, and the articles of clothing made the case what it was. Amidst all the accusations of planted evidence and conspiracy plans against Simpson, the jury and Judge Ito had to try to sift through and find Simpson guilty or not guilty.

Colorism is the dependence of social status on only skin color. Many things can contribute to race. Which means that racial categorization does not only reply on the color of one’s skin. Skin color is only one factor used to assign individuals to a race. In order for someone’s discriminations to be considered colorism and not racism, differential treatment ust not result from racial categorization, but from the social values of skin color solely. European colonialism created a system of racial hierarchy and race-based ideology, which had led to a structure of domination that privileged whites over blacks. Biological differences in skin color were used as a justification for the enslavement and oppression of Africans, developing a social hierarchy