When Netflix announced the release of its documentary, American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson, I thought to myself, how is it even possible to make yet another documentary on this topic, especially after the hugely successful dramatized version The People Vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Network: FX), starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, and O.J.: Made in America, the documentary? However, I came away from the 4-part series surprised that the makers managed to bring to light various factors which hadn’t been dissected in the other shows, especially the shocking number of evidences that weren’t part of the trial, and testimonies from new witnesses and those involved.
About the case
In 1995, former legendary NFL player and actor O.J. Simpson was on trial for the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Nicole and Ron were found stabbed to death outside her Brentwood condominium, with Nicole’s head almost severed from her body, outside Brown’s condo in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994. The televised trial, which carried on for 8 months, lasted from January 24 to October 3, 1995.
The murder trial came at a very sensitive time, in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots. On March 3, 1991, an unarmed black motorist, Rodney King, was brutally assaulted by several white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers—an incident which was captured on a video camera by a bystander. Footage of the assault was broadcast all over the world in just a few days. Three of the four accused were acquitted, while the jury failed to reach a verdict on the charge for the fourth. Within a few hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles riots began. The six-day riots left 63 people dead, over 7,000 arrested, and caused approximately $1 billion in damage. This whole verdict added a very strong racial aspect to the Simpson case.
The Case:
Simpson hired what was nicknamed by the media the ‘Dream Team,’ comprising Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, F. Lee Bailey, and Robert Kardashian. Yes, the same Kardashian who is the father of the infamous reality TV stars Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob. Despite incriminating DNA evidence, his team managed to convince the jury that the evidence had been tampered with, especially since one of the officers on the case had been proven to use racial slurs in previous investigations.
In popular culture, the case and Simpson have been parodied in episodes of cult sitcoms such as The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Seinfeld, and Saturday Night Live.
Aftermath:
Interestingly, on October 3, 2008, exactly 13 years after he was acquitted of the murders, Simpson was found guilty of 12 charges in a robbery case. Immediately after the verdict was read, Simpson, who had been free on bail prior to this point, was handcuffed and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was granted parole on July 20, 2017. Ironically, the robbery case involved Simpson stealing his own memorabilia from a sports dealer at gunpoint. Simpson passed away last year in April.
