The Power of the Jury Race is a strong word. It can provoke intense emotions for many people. As for the Simpson case, I believe the idea of race was the center of the case rather than what O.J. Simpson was being charged of. Mr. Hodgman indicated that prosecution tried their best to present all evidence against Simpson and believed that justice would prevail. However, due to a jury composed of only African Americans, the verdict came out in favor of Simpson. The United States have procedures and protocols for its criminal justice system for a reason. No matter what the prosecution’s reasoning was, they should have followed the specific procedures and rules that were laid out for everyone. Since the prosecution violated the rule of thumb, I believe that judgment was what cost them the case of O.J. Simpson. …show more content…
Hodgman by Frontline, he brought up how the jury was prejudiced against the LAPD and that is why justice did not prevail in Simpson’s case. Instead of the jury objectively examining the evidence for and against Simpson, they had an ulterior motive. They wanted revenge for the LAPD’s actions against Rodney King and for that they were willing to let a guilty man walk. This is the reason why I asserted that race could provoke intense emotions for many people. People in general will side with the race they belong to and would defend their own people against outsiders. The African American community of Los Angeles must have felt resentment toward the LAPD and taught them a lesson by showing them that they will not be bullied by the
He presents his audience with the idea that when race becomes a major component in a criminal case people lose focus on the actual crime itself. Which is true, in cases such as Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown the focus stemmed around the races of the victims and the accused assailant, not who they were or whether their actions were right or wrong or right. The media coverage of the cases seemed more determined to depict the assailants as racist that majority of the coverage was spent on the race instead of the violent nature of the
In 1995, former NFL player O.J. Simpson was put on trial for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. O.J. Simpson’s trial is believed to be one of the most popular and controversial trials to ever take place in the Los Angeles Superior Court. O.J. was found not guilty by the verdict and was released to go on and live his life. But my belief is, O.J. should have been found guilty, because of all the of the evidence that was found at the scene and later on in the investigation they discovered more evidence. Also because of the book that Nicole’s brothers published later after her death.
The O.J. Simpson Case: The Unjustified Ruling of O.J. Simpson’s Acquittal The brutal killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman: up until the case closed, law enforcement could not officially find the perpetrator. However, that only stands officially. In an aggressive trial from June 20, 1994 to October 3, 1995, a jury indicted and acquitted ex-husband of Nicole, O.J. Simpson, of a double murder charge for the two deaths. For background, on June 12, 1994, waiter Ron Goldman came to Nicole’s house to return her mother’s glasses, but around midnight a neighbor found Goldman and Nicole’s bodies stabbed to death.
There were also conclusions that the domestic abuse of Nicole Brown by Simpson were a waste of time. The jury felt like they were there for a murder case, not a domestic dispute
Rough Draft Essay #3 When the LA riots happened many thought it was a race difference between African Americans and White Americans, but it was much more than that. Anna Deavere Smith’s book Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, shows the different races involved in the LA riots and the true feelings of the LA riots from a range of different people. After interviewing over 300 people, Smith included 25 people. People who have dealt with racism, witnesses of the riots, Korean store owners, police officers and more.
People acted out of anger and displeasure in the moment so they fought and fought, One race was tired of being mistreated so they tried to make a difference, the other race didn’t want anything to change and wanted them to stay in their miserable place. I’ve read online many events where a black person and a white person did the same crime but there’s this thing called white privilege which let’s them get away or won’t suffer as much. I think this is very much sad because it’s been almost a century since the Race Riots have started and almost nothing changed except African-American getting the equal amount of rights. That’s sure an improvement but people are still immature and uneducated enough to learn how to not be racist, I see nothing wrong with black people but there are people who still do. Seeing how today’s society is still unchanged in some areas, I still personally think the Chicago Race Riots would still have started even without Eugene William’s death but at a much later
African Americans have every reason to fight back for all these cases of police brutality, but these actions do
Many black and Latino residents in Los Angeles faced significant discrimination by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during the 1950’s and 60’s. They received heavy criticism from members of the black community on the accounts of police brutality and unnecessary violence. Blacks did not feel safe in the vicinity of the police force, usually used to detain them, rather than protect them from violence. A quote from Malcolm X explains the situation well: "You’ve got some Gestapo tactics being practiced by the police department in this country against 20 million black people, second class citizens, day in and day out – not only down South but up North.
The reason O.J. was found not guilty of murder and acquitted in criminal court, but found guilty of the tort of harm and ordered to pay damages in the civil court lies in the structure of our legal system, in regards to criminal cases and civil cases. The distinct difference between criminal cases and civil cases provides further explanation regarding the O.J. Simpson case. Criminal cases deal with crimes against society. It is the government, not the victim, who brings action against the charged individual. In criminal cases, the penalties can include a number things including jail time.
OJ Simpson and Lizzie Borden Verdict How would you feel knowing that two ruthless murders were walking your town's streets, at your local stores,waving at your children,and talking to your loved ones? It wouldn’t feel pleasant,would it? That’s why Lizzie Borden and Oj Simpson need to be locked up.
Simpson trial was largely between black and white Americans. Nearly every white American thought beyond a doubt that Simpson would be found guilty of murder. However, most black Americans were hopeful for an innocent verdict because they felt it would be a sort of retribution for centuries of being discriminated against by whites (Noble). The fact that this case was only three years after the Rodney King verdict made racial tension and a desire for backlash all the more real (Bates).The issue of race would be the first bump on a long rocky road for the prosecuting team as a majority of the jury was black and had a serious distaste for law enforcement, especially the Los Angeles Police Department who had a track record of discrimination against blacks (Noble). Detective Mark Fuhrman was the first officer on the scene of the crime and was a key witness for the prosecution.
Rachlinski, Johnson, Wistrich, and Guthrie (2009), for example, found a strong White preference on the IAT among White judges… The question is whether these implicit associations can influence, i.e., bias, an individual’s decisions and actions, and there is growing evidence that the answer is yes,” (NCSC 2). Even though, there was strong societal bias within the jury and defense, the above quote backs up the claim that the biggest fault rests on the judge.. And in the case of Rodney King, an all white jury, a white judge, and inherently racist defense doomed him from the
His fame and the majority-black jury gave him an unfair advantage. He was a free murderer and no justice was served for the victims or their heart-broken families. However, if they used mostly white people, they would have automatically assumed that he was guilty since racism is a real issue in the United States of America. This was an unfair trial, not only for the victims but also for O.J. Simpson. Many racists were involved in the trial, and even though Simpson is a murderer, it is wrong to hate someone because of their skin
Plessy vs Ferguson is a similar topic of the book To Kill A Mockingbird. In both cases there was a bunch of segregation. Both people were found guilty because everyone on the jury was racist. Plessy and Ferguson was involved in this case. Plessy sat in the all white railroad cars instead of the all black railroad cars.
The Rodney King riots impacted many people in the United States in many ways, and Matheson and Baade explain one large impact that they