O.J.: Made in America : The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

I watched the coverage of the trial and like everyone heard all the gruesome details of this case, but as far as I'm concerned; forget about the bloody glove, blood evidence, Bruno Magli shoes, history of violenceand everything else that points directly to Simpson the thing that convinced me back in 1994 that he was guilty was the fact that he took off in the bronco and threatened to kill himself and had written a suicide note prior to this (was this even introduced at trial???). Why on earth would anyone do this unless they just could not go on living knowing they would have have to face the consequences. He could not go on living if he could not be OJ the great athlete, hero, beloved by the world. If he was innocent than he would have not been driven to this state of mind where the only way out is death. Even if he was innocent he would fiercely want to defend himself and protect the lifestyle he came to love. He knew this was all lost and there was no chance in hell he could charm his way out of all of this.

Though I did hear (though I don't know if this was proven) that they found a passport, fake Goatee and thousands in cash (was THIS introduced at trial????). So to me these where his only remaining options; find a way out of the country and live in hiding for the rest of his life OR commit suicide. Neither of these are things anyone who was innocent would likely consider.

Oh yeah, and kind of hilarious that in his video taped deposition at the civil trial that he'd smugly declare "I'd never wear those ugly ass shoes" only to be presented with multiple photographs of him wearing them. It's one thing to say "I don't recall buying/wearing those shoes" to "I would NEVER wear those ugly ass shoes". Seriously ridiculous.

I almost felt sorry for him. I def got "juiced" watching him. Handsome, charmingbut I have zero doubts even back in 1994 that he killed those two people.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

The suicide note and the contents of the bag for the bronco chase were not introduced at trial.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

This really puzzles me. I'm not a lawyer so I don't know about this stuff. Maybe it's circumstantial and can't be considered evidence, but I cannot believe this is irrelevent in terms of a trail.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

I think they thought it would make him look sympathetic and the lawyers didn't want to do that. I think they are incorrect because the goal is to create a narrative, to try to understand what happened and why, and i think the suicide note as well as the fact that OJ ran with a gun, disguise, passport, and money, is part of the narrative and should have been brought into the trial.

They also left out the initial interview with the cops where OJ contradicts himself multiple times about where he was at his house,what he was doing, and how he cut his finger. They didn't want the jury to hear OJ say he didn't do it, because he does in the interview. That was also a mistake because you can also hear OJ contradict himself and how incoherent his story was.

It seems like a similar mistake. They are so worried about OJ seeming at all sympathetic that they miss out on being able to introduce the incriminating part of the evidence. These are both things that gave insight into what OJ was thinking. The suicide note and the interview and i think were an important part of the narrative.

They might have lost anyway because of the racial aspect of the case, but the prosecutors made huge mistakes in the way they presented their case.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

It was presented by others at the time that his excuses would wash away this circumstantial evidence with reasonable doubt. He had cash on him in the Bronco, because he was wealthy. He had a passport because he travelled a lot of the time anyway and just happened to have it. The disguise? He was an actor. Are these flimsy excuses, maybe. But this isn't really evidence to convict him, when there was plenty more to convict him, mainly the blood. That really should have removed all doubt.

There were a LOT of people who felt he and AC took off in the Bronco because he felt he was being railroaded by the police, or judicial system. Look at it this way, let's just pretend the murders were a fight that went wrong. He went there to confront her, intimidate her only, all hell broke loose when Ron showed up, and he overdid it in killing them. To then hear on TV Gil Garcetti saying you were charged with aggrivated murder with special circumstances, and could get the death penalty, that's going to affect his already damaged psyche.

I agree the note read by Kardashian read like a suicide note, his ego was just so big he couldn't do it.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

As many have said it's like a greek tragedy. A sad but without a doubt a fascinating story. Understood that it would not be impossible to imagine that someone like OJ could have this much cash on him, though I really don't believe people these days (even 20+ years ago) would carry this much. What would be the reason??? That said it would not be impossible to believe that he'd have a passport on him, though if you are a U.S. citizen with a drivers license there there is zero reason to walking around with your passport (unless you are travelling). Though I guess that's where the the word circumstantial comes from.

I suppose it IS also possible that he thought the LAPD was planning to destroy him and he could not bear this kind of fate. THIS is also extremely hard to believe. Not because he is black, but because the police/LAPDwere largely men and fans of the Juice. This is why they chased him as a slow chase and not a high speed. They would not want to destroy their hero.

I guess this is what trials are all about; Lawyers who get to take all of these details and spin it in the sleeziest way possible (hello Johnny Cochroran comparing Mark Furhman to Hitler).

IMHO he fled because he was distraught, guilty and knew his future was bleak. He did not want this NEW reality to be his reality. He had to escape this however possible. His two options were A. evade the police and somehow use his cash and passport to get out of the country (though with an APB I cannot imagine a scenario where he could have carried out this plan) OR B. commit suicide.

He literally got away with murder and was very lucky. Though he was a pariah to many he still had a massive amount of followers and support. If he was contrite and lived quietly he could have stayed out of jail and just lived off the rest of his life, but in this documentary you see him not only robbing a hotel room but living very large, womanizing hanging out doing drugs and just acting like a total jerk. Initially I almost felt sort of sorry for him. Whether he killed them or not because he was so broken. Maybe it was one moment of total loss of control, most likely under the influence of coke or meth and out of his mind. But in hindsight I don't believe this was in any way a one time thing. He had a pattern which continued. At one time he was a beloved and celebrated athlete, but he let this lifestyle destroy his life (and the lives of 2 others).

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

As many have said it's like a greek tragedy. A sad but without a doubt a fascinating story. Understood that it would not be impossible to imagine that someone like OJ could have this much cash on him, though I really don't believe people these days (even 20+ years ago) would carry this much. What would be the reason??? That said it would not be impossible to believe that he'd have a passport on him, though if you are a U.S. citizen with a drivers license there there is zero reason to walking around with your passport (unless you are travelling). Though I guess that's where the the word circumstantial comes from.

I suppose it IS also possible that he thought the LAPD was planning to destroy him and he could not bear this kind of fate. THIS is also extremely hard to believe. Not because he is black, but because the police/LAPDwere largely men and fans of the Juice. This is why they chased him as a slow chase and not a high speed. They would not want to destroy their hero.

I guess this is what trials are all about; Lawyers who get to take all of these details and spin it in the sleeziest way possible (hello Johnny Cochroran comparing Mark Furhman to Hitler).

IMHO he fled because he was distraught, guilty and knew his future was bleak. He did not want this NEW reality to be his reality. He had to escape this however possible. His two options were A. evade the police and somehow use his cash and passport to get out of the country (though with an APB I cannot imagine a scenario where he could have carried out this plan) OR B. commit suicide.

He literally got away with murder and was very lucky. Though he was a pariah to many he still had a massive amount of followers and support. If he was contrite and lived quietly he could have stayed out of jail and just lived off the rest of his life, but in this documentary you see him not only robbing a hotel room but living very large, womanizing hanging out doing drugs and just acting like a total jerk. Initially I almost felt sort of sorry for him. Whether he killed them or not because he was so broken. Maybe it was one moment of total loss of control, most likely under the influence of coke or meth and out of his mind. But in hindsight I don't believe this was in any way a one time thing. He had a pattern which continued. At one time he was a beloved and celebrated athlete, but he let this lifestyle destroy his life (and the lives of 2 others).

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

The biggest issue I had back then, and still do now, is them letting him try on the gloves. Anyone with any knowledge of fabrics would know that gloves that have been soaked in blood and allowed to dry would have changed shape and shrunk. It also doesn't take much common sense to know that trying them on over latex gloves isn't gonna be a realistic determination of fit. I was pre-law at one time and told a professor years ago that I would have either A) Made him try on a different pair of gloves with and without latex gloves underneath to undermine the theatrics of the defense having him try on the bloody gloves, or B) Gotten a court order to take an impression of his hands weeks before the trial, and had acrylic models of his hands made and put the gloves on those. That would have removed any possibility of him feigning that they didn't fit or tampering by not taking his arthritis meds, like the documentary revealed he did. That seems like tampering to me.

Re: The One Thing That Convinced Me He Was guilty

the way I saw it was that he'd spent so many years of his life creating pristine image. He was an American god. He was adulated by everyone. Being arrested smears his image substantially, and someone with his overinflated ego definitely could not take that. It was less about being caught having killed Nicole, and more about ruining his image
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