OJ Simpson: A Horrific Homicide

On June 12, 1994 a very horrific homicide sparked one of the most controversial criminal trials in United States history. Nicole Brown Simpson, ex wife of football phenomenon OJ Simpson, and Ronald Goldman were murdered. There is substantial evidence that points to Simpson being the murderer, but he somehow came out clear of charges. Essentially, OJ Simpson was wrongly acquitted for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Orenthal James Simpson, famously nicknamed OJ or The Juice, was born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco, California to Jimmie and Eunice Simpson. He spent the first two years of his college life at the City College of San Francisco. He spent the last two at the University of Southern California, where he played

Simpson’s attorney, Robert Shapiro, managed to work out an agreement with the police that Simpson would turn himself in at ten o’clock in the morning on June 17. After Simpson didn’t show up at ten o’clock, police informed Shapiro that they would pick OJ up at his house. When police arrived, they and Shapiro discovered that Simpson took off and left behind a suicide note. Hours later a motorist informed police that he spotted Simpson in a white Bronco driven by A.C. Cowlings, OJ’s friend. This was known as “perhaps the most famous ride in American history since Paul Revere warned the Bostonians of the arrival of the British” (Linder). Soon enough, the Bronco was being chased by police cars, news helicopters, and even curious citizens. At the end of the day, the famous car chase soon ended in Simpson’s driveway where he would be arrested. “After making the arrest, police discovered $8,750 in cash, a false beard and mustache, a loaded gun, and a passport in Cowlings' vehicle”

The prosecution team was made up of District Attorneys Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden. OJ Simpson was represented by a high-profile defense team, known as the “Dream Team.” This team consisted of Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Kardashian, Shawn Holley, Carl E. Douglas, and Gerald Uelmen. The defense team also included two DNA specialists; Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. Christopher Darden began the prosecution's opening statement by portraying Simpson as an abusive husband and jealous lover (Linder). Marcia Clark then began talking about facts that proved Simpson’s guilt. In the defense’s opening statement, Johnnie Cochran proposed that Simpson couldn’t have committed a double murder due to his arthritis. He claimed that all evidence against Simpson was