I still remember where I was when I heard that OJ Simpson was cleared of criminal charges for murdering his wife and her friend. I was in an FA-18 in marshal behind the USS Independence, waiting for a night recovery. The CATCC controllers passed the news on the radio like we didn’t have anything else to worry about. Like, oh, say: 80,000 tons of cold, pitching steel 20-odd miles away, turning into the wind. “OJ was found not guilty,” the controller said. Someone airborne responded, “You’ve got to be frocking shipping me.” Or words to that effect.
Because anything else would have been a thoroughly discreditable lack of discipline.
Looks like OJ gets the hook this time:
A jury convicted O. J. Simpson of armed robbery, kidnapping and all 10 other counts stemming from a confrontation last year in a Las Vegas hotel room…
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5, and Mr. Simpson, 61, and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart, 54, could spend the rest of their lives in prison. Kidnapping is punishable by five years to life, and the armed robbery conviction requires a mandatory sentence of at least two years and up to 30 years. The presence of a weapon at the scene adds years to the minimum sentences for 9 of the 12 charges, which include conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary, assault and coercion.
Simpson could get life for this. Which may mean we’ll never figure out who the real killers were. Or get to read his book.
Which, that’ll probably break the heart of Christopher Hitchens.
Made me think of where I was when Edmonton traded away Gretzky – I was sitting in front of LSO – very late at night. I had just looked up to see that the S-3 working as a tanker was still up there, so I knew I wasn’t going to be doing post-ops and catching some sleep anytime soon. It was cold wherever we were out in the Pacific somewhere.
Our guy up in primary flight told me over the sound powered phones. He must have heard from someone up there I guess.
The Butcher of Brentwood finally gets what coming to him.
What a POS.
I can’t think of anyone more deserving of a life sentence. I’m just sorry he’s been free so long. Bet the verdict was a big fat surprise to his big fat ego.
Hope he gets a cell mate that REALLY likes him…a LOT. One can only hope that when the time comes for his final reckoning, he’ll meet his lawyers again.
I watched the whole sorry mess on TV.
In the ASW Module of the USS Enterprise at sea, W-72 if I remember correctly (Shhh, don’t tell my DivO!)
“Which may mean we’ll never figure out who the real killers were.”
Let’s put a mirror in his cell so he can continue the search.
We were in Roosy at the time the verdict came out-we gave the whole squadron 2 hours off to watch it at lunch time-bunch of us got in the BOQ and consumed a couple of beverages and watched the verdict. When I went back down the hill and went into Maintenance control-I asked our folks what they thought. I was very shocked at the racial divide among those who thought he was guilty and those who were not.
Just goes to show…
Money and Fame ain’t all that.
I’ll tell you one even worse, Skippy: the ones that believed he was guilty, but still didn’t want him to go to jail for it, a black man being in jail being a bad thing for blacks and all that. Males would say, b!tch had it coming, females saying, she musta done something wrong. And me tossing gas on the already lit fire telling them, it’s a black-white thing, and it shouldn’t be. He’s a murderer, and needs to hang.
Byron, you’re looking at this all wrong; we shouldn’t condemn Simpson, we should celebrate his exoneration!
Why? Because it’s proof positive that black Americans are better off, when a rich black man can get away with murder, just like a rich white man can.
(and yes, I’m being satirical)
Let’s not forget the brilliance and competence of the LA justice system; add another star right next to the botched McMartin trial.
I used to work with someone whose father was the funeral home director where Nicole Brown Simpson’s family brought her. He said that there was no way what happened to her was accidental – it was so savage as to shock a man with over 20 years of funeral experience. Similar reports of Ron Goldman as well.
OJ is a disgrace to humanity; I wonder how Nicole and Ron’s families feel about this? It’s justice of another form for them and far too late to be meaningful in any substantial way. But it’s got to give them just a moment’s satisfaction.
Evidence Dismissed
by Tom Lange and Philip Vannatter , the two lead detectives on the original murder debacle, is a very good read. It walks you through the timeline of the WHOLE murder event as told by the two guys that had to investigate it.
Having photographed a double murder case that involved death by military knife, you get an appreciation for the fact that if someone pulls a knife on you, you better shoot them down right where they stand and be quick about it. Mil quality knives if used by a motivated crazy person, incapacitate quickly.
And well as that book says, if you saw that murder scene, all the OJ jokes don’t seem very funny at all.
On the original OJ trial: I have always subscribed to the theory that “He was guilty, and they framed him.”
The prosecutors there were so used to incompetent defense that they didn’t know what to do when faced with really sharp high-powered lawyers.
They botched the DNA evidence, too, according to the guy who invented the PCR technique and got a Nobel Prize for it, Kary Mullis.
What I was trying to say there, was that if the prosecutors had made a serious non-silly effort, regardless of the composition of the jury, O.J. would have felt the needle enter his vein, and then nothing else, ever.