I was on Shore Patrol at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba during the NBA finals when they broke into the game to go to the 'PURSUIT'. Boy was THAT a mistake... Can you imagine that you are at a club on a base that really has no afterhours things for off-duty sailors than going to the club, and you interupt the NBA finals for a freakin news story? They actually had to close the club because all the sailors got rowdy. Taking everybody back to the ships with the 'Cattle Cars' No $#!+, they used tractor trailors with cattle cars as transportation on base for the sailors. That was just normal. I developed a nose bleed ( an on-going problem) and was in the bathroom. One sailor saw me bleeding, and panicked. He had not even touched me, but saw me bleeding and panicked. You just DON"T hit a shore patrol, and he thoughty his @$$ was grass when he saw me bleeding. He had NOT even touched me, but you could NOT convince other shore patrol... They were about to put him through the wringer, and another member from my ship said that I do have that problem. I know that poor sailor was SO relieved.
If you’re doing something wrong, WHATEVER it may be, you should be charged as a person doing wrong REGARDLESS of your position in society PERIOD! Not a “well geez guys he makes our ball club lotsa money” Or “He’s made a lot of films, he’s a star!”
Just read he only paid $114,000 of the $33 Million from the civil case. Guess civil cases don’t mean much.
OJ was guilty and everyone knew it. What killed the case was the LA District Attorney chose the prosecutors based on gender and race. At that time, that office was full of much more qualified individuals. The Key piece of evidence that the state could not overcome was the bloody sock. It was proven to have a chemical preservative in it, that was added to the sample of OJ's blood, that was taken at a later date. One of the investigators tried to put a cherry on a mountain of evidence, and proceeded to undo the whole case, by pouring preserved blood onto the sock. That sock already had Nicole's blood on it, which was the damning evidence, there was no need to put OJ's on it. Yes, the gloves, and the cross exam of Furman were damaging, but the thing that caused reasonable doubt was the obviously tainted sock evidence. Also remember, this is not long after the Rodney King deal, and the community simply did not trust the LAPD, or the court system. And the jurors came from the community. A better prosecutor would have requested a change of venue, because of the King case, and would have never had Simpson try those gloves on in open court.. it could have been done with the jury not present. Would have never put Furman on the stand, because of his history with minorities, and would have hired an expert ahead of time, to identify the test tube chemical in the blood on the sock, and would have never introduced it into evidence. In the end, the Criminal that OJ had turned into was eventually sent to prison for another crime, where a better prosecution team made no mistakes, in a case that was no where near as cut and dried as the murders of Nicole and Ron. And today, OJ is reaping the results of his life.. and justice has finally been done. JW
The OJ trial was a big deal up here as well. Was also the topic of the day, every day, where I worked at the time. Almost all the females in dispatch were fixated on it and discussed little else. Upon learning it would be televised, it became clear to me the circus would soon arrive replete with grandstanding and posturing. Even though the evidence pointed towards his guilt, my feeling was he'd never get a fair trail and would likely be found not guilty. Most didn't believe me. Our usually busy phones went eerily quiet while the verdict was read over the local radio stations. I refuse to permit the court of public opinion sway me. As already stated, the prosecution did a horrendous job while OJ's defense team hit several big flies. I have wondered if the more seasoned prosecutors begged off the case in fear of losing potential future political gain.
The DA originally chose a white male. but that guy had health issues so he chose a white female. Race and gender had nothing to do with it. She was extremely qualified and considered very good at her job -- comparitively. Remember: an experienced qualified prosecutor is not a high-dollar all-star lawyer. Neither is the best public defender. She was just fighting out of her weight class. The OJ trial started more than 2-1/2 years after the Rodney King riots. Really not too close together. The whole sock thing has been debunked. There are long explanations, but basically the defense sowed meaningless doubt and the state got outmaneuvered. The trace amounts of chemicals were meaningless -- I could find a molecule of something radioactive on my GN, but that doesn't mean it is nuclear powered. Of course the jurors came from the community. Kinda how it works. I always felt the whole trial proved one thing: that a rich black guy could buy a verdict the same way rich white guys have been doing it for decades.
I don't think race has anything to do with it but the "rich" part does. That is a race bating type of comment. If you have money, you have a much better opportunity to skirt the law, you see it every day from celebrities, athletes, politicians, executives, etc... They are all different races if you choose to open your eyes.
Certain things are exempt from such judgements. like his pensions. Those paid him real strong money and allowed him to enjoy what the Goldmans found to be a frustratingly nice lifestyle. "OJ makes a constant source of income through pensions, which creditors and the Goldman family cannot legally obtain. He receives $42,000 a year in Social Security, a pension from Screen Actors Guild and between $125,000 and $300,000 annually in an NFL pension."
It’s sad, but the best paid government prosecutor in the country might make a quarter million a year. That skill and talent can earn 10 times that in the private sector. Plus, a defense attorney doesn’t have to prove his client is innocent, just establish doubt. Patrick
