9781422274033

OVERVIEW AND HISTORY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

On October 3, 1995, over 95 million people tuned in to watch the exciting conclusion of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Most viewers had followed the televised courtroom trial for months. Now, the “trial of the century” was over, and a Los Angeles jury would

decide whether Orenthal James Simpson was innocent or guilty of charges that he had murdered his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. More than a year earlier, in June of 1994, a frantic dog had led Nicole Brown’s neighbors to the victim’s bodies. Brown and Goldman had been stabbed and left on the walkway leading to Brown’s home. When photos of the ghastly crime scene emerged, the violence on display outraged the public. Immediately, Simpson was a person of interest in the murders. While the criminal justice system got to work, popular opinion was that Simpson had murdered his ex-wife. After Simpson led police on a slow-speed car chase on live television, this opinion grew stronger. The trial of O.J. Simpson took nine months, as the prosecution and defense unveiled their cases. Due to

7