Will the Glove Fit This Time Around?

O.J. Simpson tries on the pair of gloves allegedly used by the murderer of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman at his 1995 double murder trial. Simpson was later exonerated of the murders.

"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit," bellowed a hoarse defense attorney named Johnny Cochran during "The Trial of the Century" wherein Orenthal James Simpson was exculpated of the brutal slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

So where were you the morning of Tuesday, October 3, 1995, upon the reading of the verdict? "We, the jury, find the Defendant, Orenthal James Simpson NOT GUILTY..." Were you at work? Were you in school? Were you getting your hair done?

I was in Mrs. DiSienna's fourth grade art class. I remember the principal broke into daily announcements so that the staff members and students could hear the reading of that verdict. While I was only 9-years-old, I still remember the mixed reactions from fellow classmates and teachers. There were the black kids huddled together acting as though Lincoln had just freed the slaves, there were white kids acting as though Kennedy had just been shot, and at her desk was Mrs. DiSienna---mulling about what a travesty of justice had just occurred. On the television, turned on seconds after the verdict, was an enormous crowd outside the courthouse in Los Angeles---chanting, jeering, almost in a near riot as if the Rodney King trial had been rewound.

I was upset, but at that time and at that age, I really didn't know what I was upset about. It may have been disappointment as I knew very well that my father and mother had so wanted Simpson to be found guilty. Everyone knows that parents rub off on children and, at that age, I was very impressionable. Later, I learned that even the lowest of scum deserve a fair trial, and regardless of what you may think, whether it be that he is guilty or not, Orenthal James Simpson received a fair trial. It is his right and he exerted it---you can blame the prosecution for its sloppy work, you can blame the jury for being star-struck, and you can blame the judge and media for turning The Trial of the Century into a circus, but the bottom line is he was acquitted and there is nothing that can be done to fix it.

You may hate him for what he might have done to his ex-wife and her friend and you may still hold a grudge against him for writing a book in which he basically confesses to the murders, but the law is the law: This man, whether he be a cold-blooded killer or not, is on trial for something entirely different. That trial has been over for 13 years, America. It's time to move on. This man should be held liable for the facts that are contained in the 12 charges listed in the indictment. He is to be adjudged on those charges and those charges only. He mustn't have to endure a feeling of dread as though he were being put in double jeopardy for those two murders oh so many years ago in what seems like another lifetime to some.

The question now is simple: Will the glove fit this time around or will O.J. Simpson once again slip through the cracks of the American system of jurisprudence?

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution states:

"...nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..."

With that said, we know that Simpson is free from being charged for those crimes ever again, but is he carrying a "scarlet letter" seemingly brocaded upon his forehead? Is there some diaphanous bounty out on O.J. Simpson's head? If so, is that something fair? Afterall, it's not his fault he was acquitted more than a decade ago, it's not his fault that the prosecution bungled its case, and its not his fault that the jury thought there to be reasonable doubt in the case.

This is our justice system and it's not perfect. We all know that guilty people walk free every day just as we know innocent people go to prison for the rest of their lives. But remember, it's all we've got. O.J. Simpson and his co-defendant, C.J. Stewart have a right to tell their stories, they have a right to a fair and impartial jury of their peers, and they have a right to a fair trial whether they be guilty as sin or not.

I ask that those prospective jurors set aside their ancient prejudices against the man many believe got away with murder and be more human because if we let hate consume us, we become no better than the man sitting in that Defendant's seat. At that point, we have become something less than human, and in this country, that my friends, guilty verdict or not, is never justice.