Dead Pool 2024

[grumbler]

Grumbles brings up Mark Fuhrman.  I mean as a lawyer good on defence counsel who were able to misdirect and make Fuhrman the issue on trial, rather than Simpson.  But whether or not Fuhrman used the n-word has nothing to do with the guilt of Simpson (and the N-word, while bad, was nowhere near as toxic then as it is now).

It wasn't that he used the N-word, it was that he was the prosecution's star witness, the lead detective in the case, but was extremely sloppy with the chain of custody for evidence and was shown on the stand to be a perjurer who took the fifth when directly asked if he planted evidence.

I was and am 100% convinced that OJ did it, but if I was on that jury and asked to render a verdict of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" based solely on the evidence presented, I don't think that I could do it.

[Josquius]

OJ Simpson sort-of reminds me of Michael Jackson.  MJ went through a big child sex abuse trial in (googles - 2005).  He was acquitted.  People seemed quite happy about that.  In the years since then the reputation of MJ has completely shifted though and people recognize he was a serial child sex abuser.

It does seem since the 2000s there's been a big breakthrough in tackling child abuse. Jimmy Saville was the big one in the UK, and though he wasn't known elsewhere I do wonder whether this somehow served to shake the collective mindset.
As yeah, say Michael Jackson and one of the top 5 things to come to most people under 50's mind will be kiddy fiddler.

Actually - hell the same applies to Johnny Depp, and even fucking Donald Trump.  If people like someone it's hard for them to look past that and look at the actual evidence.

Johnny Depp?

[Josephus]

Wow.  OJ Simpson.

Kids or younger people just have no conception of how huge that trial was in the 90s (or the infamous police chase).  I remember people cheering when OJ was found Not Guilty - he was a beloved sports star / actor.  In the years since though it was widely recognized he was guilty as sin of the murders.

Funny, my memory is a bit different. I remember being in a restaurant at the time. I was interviewing someone (not related to this) over a coffee and the news was on the TV screens. When the verdict came in, everyone started shouting in disbelief, certainly not cheering.

[grumbler]

Funny, my memory is a bit different. I remember being in a restaurant at the time. I was interviewing someone (not related to this) over a coffee and the news was on the TV screens. When the verdict came in, everyone started shouting in disbelief, certainly not cheering.

Some were cheering, some were jeering.  I don't think that anyone doubted his guilt.  Those who were cheering were doing so because a black man had actually been acquitted of a crime.  The cops who beat up Rodney King were acquitted despite being guilty just a couple of years earlier, so some saw the acquittal of Simpson to be some sort of cosmic payback.

[Jacob]

Some were cheering, some were jeering.  I don't think that anyone doubted his guilt.  Those who were cheering were doing so because a black man had actually been acquitted of a crime.  The cops who beat up Rodney King were acquitted despite being guilty just a couple of years earlier, so some saw the acquittal of Simpson to be some sort of cosmic payback.

"The privileges of wealth applies to Black people too! This is better than rich Black folks being subjected to systemic injustice the same way poor Black folks are! Yeay!"

Something like that?

[Caliga]

To the best of my recollection, the media portrayal of reaction to the verdict was:

* black people were overjoyed
* everyone else was furious

I don't remember being anything other than shocked, personally.  But I recall the portrayal of reaction to the verdict being drawn on racial lines only.  Obviously, reality couldn't have 100% lined up with that.

[Admiral Yi]

I was working in a small magazine office in DC when the verdict was announced.  The black ladies in subscriptions all cheered and the white people were all quiet.  I remember thinking "really, you too?"

[DGuller]

I was on lunch recess in the courtyard in junior high school when the news of the verdict got around.  You could probably figure out what the verdict was even without hearing it.

[Barrister]

OJ Simpson sort-of reminds me of Michael Jackson.  MJ went through a big child sex abuse trial in (googles - 2005).  He was acquitted.  People seemed quite happy about that.  In the years since then the reputation of MJ has completely shifted though and people recognize he was a serial child sex abuser.

It does seem since the 2000s there's been a big breakthrough in tackling child abuse. Jimmy Saville was the big one in the UK, and though he wasn't known elsewhere I do wonder whether this somehow served to shake the collective mindset.
As yeah, say Michael Jackson and one of the top 5 things to come to most people under 50's mind will be kiddy fiddler.

Actually - hell the same applies to Johnny Depp, and even fucking Donald Trump.  If people like someone it's hard for them to look past that and look at the actual evidence.

Johnny Depp?

He sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation for saying he was a domestic violence abuser, and won.  Most of the online commentary was supportive of Depp, although it seemed like Heard's allegations were pretty believable.

[Sheilbh]

Heard won her case in the UK High Court. The online commentary (especially from the US) was pretty horrendous - but in the press here UK contempt of court rules and reporting restrictions kicked in.

I agree that Heard's allegatios seem very believable.

[crazy canuck]

The thing I will always remember about the OJ trial was one of the closing submissions made by the fence was that it was simply unbelievable that O.J. Simpson would wear track pants with dress socks. I heard this submission after a long day of work, into my track pants, but leaving my work dress socks on.

Mrs. CC looked at me and just started laughing.

[viper37]

Most of the online commentary was supportive of Depp, although it seemed like Heard's allegations were pretty believable.

She did not help herself with her behavior.

[Admiral Yi]

I saw some clips of the Depp/Heard trial but I have no opinion on who was right.  I did however get the distinct impression that Johnny Depp is a tool.

[The Brain]

I saw Amber Heard in The Stepfather remake, and I am convinced that she was right about Depp.

[Josephus]

I think I'm the only person in the world that didn't follow any of that Heard/Depp thing. When the late night comedians were going on about defecation, I had no idea what they were on about.