No single case better epitomized the flaws and divides in the judicial system and the nation as a whole than the O.J. Simpson case.
His death last week at 76 of prostrate cancer revived a host of discussions and analysis over his 1994 murder trial.
The not guilty verdict in the criminal phase and subsequent guilty verdict in the civil phase was the subject of reviews last week in a host of columns, articles, commentaries and discussions.
For one, there remain a handful of folks, though far fewer today, who refuse to believe Simpson killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goodman. Far more feel he got away with it due to the legal skill of the late Johnnie Cochran, plus the incompetence of a prosecution dependent on evidence compiled by a corrupt and admittedly racist cop.
But the ultimate bottom line is few have fallen further from grace and glory than Simpson. When he was finally convicted of another crime and sentenced to prison many saw it as karma.
Sadly, the issues of police misconduct raised during his trial haven’t been solved. The arena of true crime coverage and court television that was created in the wake of his trial has only grown bigger and more enormous over the last few decades.
As a nation, it is doubtful any single case or personality will emerge to rival the spectacle of the O.J. Simpson trial. America has grown more cynical and more divided over the years.
O.J. Simpson’s trial, indeed his rise and meteoric fall from epic athlete, pitchman and actor to disgraced and widely shunned criminal is one of those instances where truth truly is stranger and way more disturbing than fiction.