# Is OJ Simpson innocent or guilty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 9, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313 "2018-08-09T01:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/101 "2018-08-23T22:40:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > BTW the case is not open by the LAPD , they say OJ did it and there is no reason to keep the case open to waste time on it. I found several cites from 2016 that the case is still open. It doesn’t sound accurate that a police department can just say they know something and close the case. Do you have a cite for this claim? USC law professor and criminal defense attorney Michael Brennan claimed it is still open in 2016: > [@](#): > > **When is a criminal case officially closed?** > > It closes when somebody is arrested and convicted of the crime that’s been committed. In this case, that hasn’t happened. [Simpson] was charged and acquitted, so the case is still open. They just haven’t prosecuted and convicted anyone for those two homicides. I’m not sure the LAPD has spent a tremendous amount of time trying to find another suspect. > **[Could O.J. Simpson Be Tried Again for Murder?](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/could-oj-simpson-be-tried-872820/)** > > The knife that was allegedly found on the former property of O.J. Simpson raises legal questions. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/102 "2018-08-23T23:39:53Z")
can’t recall where I read it was closed but I suppose that writer got it wrong. Cops have limited resources so I don’t think they spend time on 24 year old cases absent new evidence. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/103 "2018-08-24T01:38:19Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-02-17/news/9502170194\_1\_nicole-simpson-detective-ronald-phillips-ronald-goldman](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-02-17/news/9502170194_1_nicole-simpson-detective-ronald-phillips-ronald-goldman) > > "I said . . . `I have some bad news for you. Your ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, has been killed,' " Phillips testified Thursday about the five-minute conversation. "The first words out of his mouth were, `Oh, my God, Nicole is killed. Oh, my God, she’s dead,’ " the detective recalled. Which I think is suspicious. Wouldn’t your first thought be an auto accident? One of the key things for me are the amazing coincidences if OJ was innocent. Take his blood dripping all over his driveway. How many times in your life have you cut yourself so badly that you bled all over the place? Maybe a couple of times? How unlucky would you have to be to cut yourself on the same night that your ex-wife and her friend were brutally murdered right across town? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/104 "2018-08-24T02:14:18Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Which I think is suspicious. Wouldn’t your first thought be an auto accident? Maybe it was his first thought. What makes you think it was something else? I wouldn’t think that, though. IME, when someone says “(Blank) was killed”, the thought that follows is that it was murder/manslaughter. Deaths in auto accidents are usually announced differently, at least with the ending “killed in an car accident.” ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/105 "2018-08-24T03:51:03Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Maybe it was his first thought. What makes you think it was something else? > > I wouldn’t think that, though. IME, when someone says “(Blank) was killed”, the thought that follows is that it was murder/manslaughter. Deaths in auto accidents are usually announced differently, at least with the ending “killed in an car accident.” I guess we are all different, but my first question after composing myself, would be “What the hell happened?” ---
**Author:** ![Lorne\_Armstrong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@Lorne\_Armstrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorne_Armstrong)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/106 "2018-08-24T09:48:39Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Where are you getting this from? Former FBI profiler and author John Douglas wrote about this in one of his books (I think it was The Cases That Haunt Us). He states that OJ never asked which ex-wife. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/107 "2018-08-24T12:07:49Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I guess we are all different, but my first question after composing myself, would be “What the hell happened?” I never commented on what my first question would be or if I’d have one at all. You said you think it was suspicious that OJ’s first thought wasn’t that it was an auto accident. How do you know it wasn’t? I then commented that based on the detective’s phrasing, it wouldn’t be my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/108 "2018-08-24T13:10:51Z")
another interesting story is the rumor that OJ is the real father of Khloe Kardashian , she is 5-10 and her sisters are 5-0 and 5-3. And she does not look that much like her sisters either. No proof of that story as far as I know and OJ and Kris Jenner have denied it. I don’t think anyone thinks OJ was faithful to Nicole. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/109 "2018-08-24T14:43:23Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > she is 5-10 and her sisters are 5-0 and 5-3. However, she has naturally paler skin than her sisters. I’d go with the hairdresser before OJ. > **[Does Khloe Kardashian have a different father from her sisters? If so, who is...](https://www.quora.com/Does-Khloe-Kardashian-have-a-different-father-from-her-sisters-If-so-who-is-her-biological-father)** > > Answer (1 of 20): There has been much speculation over the years about Khloe Kardashian's paternity. > > Some believe that she has a different father from her sisters, while others claim that Lamar Odom is not her biological father. > > However, there has... ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/110 "2018-08-24T14:56:48Z")
Shoddy police work, a racist detective that was discredited on the stand, mediocre prosecution, a very rich and famous defendant, and the best lawyer money could buy pretty much sealed the deal. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/111 "2018-08-24T15:03:04Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Shoddy police work, a racist detective that was discredited on the stand, mediocre prosecution, a very rich and famous defendant, and the best lawyer money could buy pretty much sealed the deal. And perhaps most importantly: an African-American jury that (collectively) felt they were in a position of power for perhaps the first time in their lives from a societal point of view, and were determined to exercise that power, especially in light of the recent Rodney King trial. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/112 "2018-08-24T15:19:20Z")
the joke at the time was the LAPD were so bad they could not frame a guilty man. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/113 "2018-08-27T15:41:16Z")
Sacha Baron Cohen tried to get OJ to confess but he did not fall for it [Sacha Baron Cohen trolls O.J. Simpson on 'Who Is America?' finale](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/08/27/sacha-baron-cohen-o-j-simpson-who-america-finale/1108262002/) ---
**Author:** ![Roy\_Batty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/114 "2018-08-31T13:13:02Z")
O.J. should be in jail for the rest of his life, or worse. He murdered two innocent people in cold blood back in 1994, and there was a plethora of physical evidence that proved that he committed the crime. I don’t care that he got off in a court of law. He’s still guilty, everyone knows he’s guilty, and it’s one of the biggest jokes & travesties of justice that he got off on this. It’s also worth noting that O.J.'s previous domestic abuse against NB were taken into account when the murder trial took place - though I guess that wasn’t enough for the jury. Obviously, someone who had a history of viciously beating his wife - and threatening to kill her - should have been one of the first suspects in her murder. It’s obvious that even some of O.J.'s defense lawyers believed he was guilty - but, since he had a shitload of money & since they were getting paid very well, they could obviously overlook this - LOL. It’s painfully obvious that our criminal justice system is biased towards those who have money, and biased against those who don’t. If O.J. had been poor & under the exact same circumstances, he would have been in jail forever - or gotten the death penalty. I also feel the defense made two fatal mistakes that cost them the trial: 1. Having O.J. try the gloves on - and not knowing they wouldn’t fit ahead of time. This was incredibly stupid, and made the prosecutors looks like inept fools. I also don’t necessarily think that if the prosecution hadn’t done this that the defense would have brought up the gloves as evidence. We’ll never know now. It’s worth noting that there were numerous reasons why the gloves didn’t fit: - The gloves were leather, which shrinks - so, they could have shrunk & been smaller than they were initially. - O.J. wore plastic gloves over his hands before trying the leather gloves on. So, of course they wouldn’t fit correctly. - There is no way of knowing whether or not the gloves fit O.J. that well to begin with. 1. Mark F. He should never have been a LE officer in the first place, and definitely should not have been in charge of this investigation. In any case, the prosecution not doing their homework & thereby not knowing the serious issues he had & serious complaints against him, etc. was also sloppy & inept. It’s hard to believe that he confessed some heinous crimes on tape & the prosecution didn’t initially know about this. Amazing. I felt bad for the prosecutors - their hearts were definitely in the right place, and they definitely were prosecuting someone that they knew committed the crime (obviously, not all lawyers are this way). However, because of their various bad decisions & missteps - this whole thing blew up in their face. Sad. I was in college when O.J. was declared innocent in Fall 1995. I distinctly remembered passing by the student center on that day, and suddenly, without warning, there was a huge amount of cheering coming from the building - I heard this even though I was outside the building. I immediately knew the reason, even though I wasn’t watching TV at the time. I would also urge everyone interested in this case to see the superb documentary series from 2016, O.J.: Made in America. This spends a lot of time on not just O.J.'s personal history, but a history of L.A. & the police force, the early '90’s events in L.A. leading up to the trial (Rodney King, the riots, etc.), the trial itself, the later civil case against O.J., and the robbery in Vegas. It even interviews some of the former jurors in the 1994/1995 trial. Very educational & informative. > **[O.J.: Made in America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.J.:_Made_in_America)** > > O.J.: Made in America is a 2016 American documentary, produced and directed by Ezra Edelman for ESPN Films and their 30 for 30 series. It was released as a five-part miniseries and in theatrical format. The documentary explores race and celebrity through the life of O. J. Simpson, from his emerging football career at the University of Southern California, and his celebrity and popularity within American culture, to his trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, and ... ---
**Author:** ![Roy\_Batty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/115 "2018-08-31T13:25:27Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > And perhaps most importantly: an African-American jury that (collectively) felt they were in a position of power for perhaps the first time in their lives from a societal point of view, and were determined to exercise that power, especially in light of the recent Rodney King trial. Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/116 "2018-09-01T03:25:07Z")
> [@Roy\_Batty](#): > > I also feel the defense made two fatal mistakes that cost them the trial: You mean the prosecution, right? Because it wasn’t the defense who had him try on the gloves. ---
**Author:** ![Roy\_Batty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/117 "2018-09-01T21:14:10Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You mean the prosecution, right? Right - I misspoke. I meant the prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/118 "2018-09-02T00:52:42Z")
the defense were ready for him to try on the gloves but they did not think the prosecution would do it. They prepped OJ to tell him how to make them not fit. ---
**Author:** ![Roy\_Batty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Roy\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roy_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313/119 "2018-09-02T01:16:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > the defense were ready for him to try on the gloves but they did not think the prosecution would do it. They prepped OJ to tell him how to make them not fit. True. Based on everything I’ve heard/read, they even mentioned to the prosecution that if they didn’t have OJ try on the gloves, they (the defense) would have him do so. They did this intentionally to discredit the prosecution, and it worked extremely well. The prosecution’s stupid rookie mistake here was not knowing ahead of time whether or not the gloves fit. My take on this is that the prosecution should have just called the defense’s bluff & had them have OJ try on the gloves. Sure, they still wouldn’t have fit but at least the prosecution wouldn’t have looked like idiots re: asking the defendant to do something that made them (the prosecution) look bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-oj-simpson-innocent-or-guilty/819313.md?page=5)