Why OJ Simpson Was Acquitted Of The Murders Of Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman

This article contains discussion of a real-life double homicide and the ensuing criminal trial.

Netflix's new true-crime documentary American Manhunt: OJ Simpson revisited one of the most notorious criminal trials in American history, but it's not entirely clear why Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. Netflix has plenty of great documentaries, and its newest one revisited OJ Simpson's extremely high-profile murder trial. Simpson had previously been a very famous running back for the Buffalo Bills, and he had even begun a prominent acting career. That's one of many reasons his murder trial captured the entire nation's attention.

Now, American Manhunt could become one of the best true-crime shows on Netflix, and potentially one of the best true-crime shows in general. American Manhunt takes an exhaustive look into the court case The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson, interviews experts on the subject and key figures from both the investigation and trial, and paints a fairly complete picture of the double murder and subsequent court case. One area that might need clarification, however, is why OJ Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown, his ex-wife, and Ron Goldman.

OJ Simpson Was On Trial For The Murders Of Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman

Police Found Blood On OJ Simpson's Property After Brown & Goldman Were Found Murdered

OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown smiling in a photo together, via American Manhunt: OJ Simpson

On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were stabbed to death in Brown's Los Angeles home. Goldman was Brown's friend and a waiter at the restaurant where Brown and her mother ate dinner that night, and he had come over to return her mother's glasses (via ABC News). On June 17, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a warrant for OJ Simpson's arrest, but he failed to turn himself in. Instead, Simpson hid in the back of a white Ford Bronco, which was driven by his friend, A.C. Cowlings, and the pair led the LAPD on a low-speed chase (via Encyclopedia Britannica).

Simpson eventually surrendered himself to police, and a fake disguise was found in the back of Cowlings' car (via New York Times). He was then charged with the murder of both Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. Simpson was determined to be a suspect in the murders because police officers, who had been sent to notify Simpson of Brown's murder, discovered blood in his driveway and, after conducting a search, found a bloody glove on his property (via Washington Post). He was then charged with two counts of first degree murder and put on trial.

OJ Simpson's Defense Case Explained

Simpson's Attorneys Argued That Evidence Had Been "Contaminated, Compromised, & Corrupted"

OJ Simpson stands in court from OJ: Made In America

During the murder trial, OJ Simpson hired a team of attorneys to defend him that included Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, and Robert Kardashian. Simpson's defense was fairly simply summarized by Cochran in his opening statements: they argued that the evidence the trial was built on had been "contaminated, compromised and ultimately corrupted," (via UMKC School of Law). Encyclopedia Britannica also offered a useful summary of the defense's case and their strategy of questioning the validity of the prosecution's evidence.

The Simpson defense was based largely on the grounds that evidence had been mishandled or planted and that members of the Los Angeles police department were racist.

Simpson's attorneys argued that LAPD's forensic analysts had made errors while collecting evidence from Nicole Brown's house, which resulted in the real killer's DNA evidence being destroyed, and that the LAPD had carried samples of Simpson's DNA around for hours, allegedly contaminating evidence (via Court TV News). The defense also singled out officer Mark Fuhrman as an example of the LAPD's racism and produced evidence that he had used the n-word (via UMKC School of Law). Fuhrman perjured himself by claiming he had not said the n-word in the past 10 years, and his reliability as a source of evidence was called into question.

The defense also singled out officer Mark Fuhrman as an example of the LAPD's racism and produced evidence that he had used the n-word.

One of the most infamous pieces of evidence from Simpson's trial, the bloody glove, also highlighted his defense team's strategy. The defense convinced the prosecution to let Simpson try on the glove, and Johnnie Cochran infamously said "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit," (via People). The glove, which had been frozen and thawed multiple times during the course of the investigation and trial, did not fit, and the defense used it as proof that Simpson couldn't have worn the glove to commit the murders.

OJ Simpson's Murder Trial Verdict & Acquittal Explained

OJ Simpson after hearing the not guilty verdict in American Manhunt: OJ Simpson

After an eight-month trial, the jury in OJ Simpson's criminal case delivered a verdict on October 3, 1995. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, meaning he was found not guilty by the jury (via Encyclopedia Britannica). The defense had succeeded in casting doubt on the DNA evidence collected by the LAPD (via People). As juror David Aldana told the media, "On the evidence that they gave me to evaluate, it was crooked by the cops. The evidence given to me to look at, I could not convict. Did he do it? Maybe, maybe not," (via NBC Los Angeles).

"We the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder upon Nicole Brown Simpson" - Jury's verdict in the trial of OJ Simpson.

Racial divides in America also likely contributed to Simpson's acquittal. Officer Fuhrman's use of racial slurs called into question the validity of the LAPD's investigation into a Black suspect (via People). Additionally, juror Lionel Cryer, after delivering the not guilty verdict, raised a Black Power fist, and was later revealed to be a former member of the Black Panther party (via The Wrap). According to the New York Times, "prosecutors had inexplicably left [Cryer] on the panel." Cryer also said that the trial was "garbage in, garbage out," (via The Wrap).

Why The OJ Simpson Verdict Was So Controversial

Simpson's Trial Was Extremely Popular & Tapped Into Racial Divides In America

OJ Simpson at his trial in American Manhunt: OJ Simpson

The main reason OJ Simpson's acquittal proved to be so divisive is because of how high-profile his case was. Almost everyone in America had followed his televised trial, and everyone had an opinion on his innocence or guilt. Somewhere between 95 and 150 million tuned into the televised reading of the verdict, and the country was so enamored that Business Insider estimated America lost $480 million in lost productivity on that day. No matter how Simpson's trial turned out, millions of people would have been disappointed.

No matter how Simpson's trial turned out, millions of people would have been disappointed.

Racial tensions, again, played a large role in the controversy surrounding Simpson's trials. Across America, Black people agreed with the acquittal, while white people believed Simpson was guilty (via Encyclopedia Britannica). The trial also came just years after the 1992 Los Angeles riots over the killing of Rodney King at the hands of corrupt law enforcement, so racial tensions in the country were a pressing issue. President Bill Clinton even commented on the trial, saying "I hope the American people will not let this become some symbol of the larger racial issue in our country," (via Time).

Those who believed Simpson was guilty of the murders also had several criticisms of the trial. Simpson's defense team was notoriously eccentric, and they frequently created controversy. Johnnie Cochran compared Officer Mark Fuhrman to Adolf Hitler (via Jewish News of Northern California), and said that Fuhrman "wants to take all black people now and burn them or bomb them. That's genocidal racism." Additionally, the jury in the case also came under scrutiny for being biased against the LAPD and law enforcement in general, with Lionel Cryer being a major source of said criticism.

Essentially every part of OJ Simpson's trial was scrutinized by the media and the public alike.

The prosecutors of Simpson's trial also drew controversy. Several mistakes were made in the course of the trial, such as decisions not to include incriminating evidence, the decision to let Simpson try on the bloody glove, and the decision to move the trial to downtown Los Angeles, where jurors were more sympathetic to Simpson (via PBS). Even Judge Lance Ito drew criticism, as he was seen as a "poor steward" of the courtroom who allowed the media to influence the trial (via UMKC Law School). Essentially every part of OJ Simpson's trial was scrutinized by the media and the public alike.

OJ Simpson was later found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman in a 1997 civil trial, though that separate court case does not make him legally guilty for the crime (via Encyclopedia Britannica).

The controversy surrounding OJ Simpson's murder trial captured the American public's attention in 1995, and it continues to do so 30 years later. Countless documentaries, investigative reports, and reevaluation of evidence have taken place in the decades since Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were murdered. Numerous people have tried to find someone else who could have committed the killings or find some new way to prove Simpson's guilt. It's a testament to how notorious Simpson's criminal trial was that documentaries like American Manhunt: OJ Simpson still command as much attention as they do.