Thursday, November 27, 2008

More Than a Sentence for O.J. Simpson


Earl Ofari Hutchinson

The instant O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and weapons charges in a Las Vegas court, a lusty on line debate ensued between legal experts and bloggers over whether the judge would or should throw the book at Simpson at his sentencing on December 5. The debate was tinged with more personal feeling, rage, and loathing about and toward Simpson than about the court’s legal options. Judges, of course, can slap sentence enhancements on a convicted felon based on their prior record, and in some cases their bad behavior. But Simpson has not been convicted of any crimes prior to his Las Vegas conviction. His behavior may have been boorish and repellant but that’s hardly legal grounds for doubling down on his sentence. Nevada legal experts say that the judge could hit Simpson with a maximum sentence of twenty-five to thirty years. If so, he would be eligible for parole in 8 years.
The sentence will satisfy the court of law. It won’t totally satisfy many in the court of public opinion. The reason is simple. Simpson’s acquittal on double murder charges thirteen years ago still sticks in the craw of much of America. The bloggers and legal pundits who furiously debated Simpson’s pending sentence needle was stuck hard on that point. They reflect the feeling of millions more. If Simpson served every day of a lengthy sentence with even the faint possibility of walking free that will not be good enough for many.


From the day that he beat the double murder rap and walked out of a Los Angeles court, he has gone wherever he pleased and done what he pleased. He's been trailed by a pack of doting former fans, and celebrity gawkers. There was no hint that police in any of these cities ever routinely subjected him to a special get Simpson profile. Yet, Simpson's ill gained notoriety and perverse celebrity virtually guaranteed that the legal hammer would drop especially hard on him at the first whiff of criminal wrongdoing. There was no chance that given the savage public mood toward him and with the one person truth squad of Fred Goldman continually wagging the guilt finger at him that Simpson would get the benefit of the doubt on any future charges against him. He, of all people, should’ve known that.
A poll taken after Simpson’s Las Vegas bust found that a majority of the public still seethed that he was a murderer who skipped away scot-free, and that his trial and acquittal was a blatant travesty of justice. Even many of Simpson’s one time black supporters who passionately screamed that he was the victim of a biased criminal justice system in the L.A. murder trial cut and run after the Las Vegas verdict. There was not even a bare peep from them that the conviction had any racial taint to it. Simpson and his attorney’s complaint that prosecutors massaged and twisted jury selection to insure a non-black jury drew barely a yawn in press and legal circles.
Simpson didn't invent or originate the oftimes ugly divide in public opinion about celebrity guilt. It has always lurked just beneath the surface. But his case propelled it to the front of public debate and anger. The horde of Simpson media commentators, legal experts and politicians who branded the legal system corrupt and compromised also fueled public belief that justice is for sale. Simpson's acquittal seemed to confirm that the rich, famous and powerful have the deep pockets to hire a small army of high priced, high profile attorneys, expert witnesses, experts, and investigators who routinely mangle the legal system to stall, delay, and drag out their cases, and eventually allow their well-heeled clients to weasel out of punishment.
Even when prosecutors manage to win convictions of or guilty pleas from celebrities, their money, fame, power, and legal twisting often guarantee that they will get a hand slap jail sentence, if that. The hung jury after months of legal finagling and manuevering in the Los Angeles murder trial of one time record kingmaker Phil Spector drew the same public tongue wagging about how a washed up celebrity with a few bucks can play the system.
Whether Las Vegas prosecutors did indeed as Simpson claimed grossly overcharge him, it didn’t stop the chatter that a killer was finally getting at least some of his due. Few others rushed to his defense and blamed the steep charges on a vindictive and unforgiving criminal justice system. In any case, Simpson did his best to try to convince a hostile and doubting public and jury that he was a victim. It worked once, but not a second time. With Simpson it was always more than just a mundane criminal case, and so is his sentence.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is How Obama Won (Middle Passage Press, January 2009).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I will be ecstatic over the fact that Simpson (whom hasn't learned his lesson since the prior case) could be overcharged for his latest antics. Perhaps the father of Ron Goldman would have a little peice-of-mind knowing that O.J., who seems to be taunting the Goldmans and the public everytime he misses the jail bullet, will be behind bars. There's no way that the judge or jury would oversee everything that O.J. has done in the past. Perhaps now he'll realize that all of the dirt he's done and mistreatment of others is soon to catch up to him.

Malika

P.S.
That clown better not even think about looking to the Black community for help.

梁爵 said...

2020.05.31酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容背滿學貸信貸,優渥人生對妳而言好遙遠?快來哈囉舒壓,我在酒店上班的日子給自己一個機會,不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因成就日收破萬高薪人生! 工作環境單純,安全更無憂。想脫貧?這次好機會別錯過。酒店上班-酒店兼職-兼差如何達成人生的第一桶金免繳保證金/免證件/不綁約。薪資超透明 月入10萬不是夢。服務: 安全面試, 最佳顧問, 單純保證, 安全呵護。一、酒店兼差不是一個複雜的工作環境?酒店小姐的收入有多少?有急用可以借支嗎? 職場須知 【酒店PT 】以一個〝單純〞陪酒的酒店小姐,一天的收入約3000~7000(不含小費)除非有〝額外〞的服務,一天可以領。而且只要做酒店工作,這些都是無法避免的「有人覺得做禮服店就賺很多,又不會出場,我都覺得是幻想。你不是模特兒等級的,哪間禮服店收?傳播工作與酒店工作有什麼不同傳播小姐與酒店小姐的工作內容其實大同小異,但在工作內容以外卻有許多的大不同,我來為各位做出2者不同的差異性,給各位做個酒店工作內容: 桌面服務,一般人通常會想偏,其實桌面服務是很簡單,也很單純的一件事。桌面服務有以下幾個要點: 看了很多篇酒店文,好像很少有男生寫經驗? 我是酒店少爺,在滿18歲那天開始上班雖然不是第一次進去酒店,不過以工作人員的身份倒是頭一次,有一些沒有接觸過酒店的姐妹來找我應徵酒店小姐的時候,我們談的都很融洽,實際上她們也很需要來酒店上班賺錢,可是後來卻沒有來上班,不是沒有休假?那個是有簽約的對吧? 不可違約?薪水大約多少?怎麼領的? 應該不是月薪吧? 女孩子去那裡上班會不會,這表示我還不夠好,而且不誨言的,我也希望收入可以增加!) 雖說酒店上班一個星期的收入等於一個上班族一個月二至三萬的薪水,新冠肺炎疫情延燒,讓酒店文化也成為民眾茶餘飯後的話題,一名女大生在《Dcard》分享自己酒店上班的經驗,也讓她見識到這個工作辛苦的一面,分享自己在酒店上班當酒店小姐的甘苦經驗。很多不懂酒店這環境的人,想來酒店上班、酒店打工、酒店兼差、酒店兼職,卻往往會被這八個問題所困擾著!在此酒店經紀琳琳姐為各位整理出以下幾點問與答,究竟要如何在第一天就上手酒店的工作呢?許多人都認為酒店是個複雜的環境,不過與現實社會的壓力相較,還是會有人選擇在酒店上班、酒店打工。

梁爵 said...

酒店經紀影音⬇️酒店經紀推薦首選梁曉尊

豐盛國際娛樂(爵尊聖日耳曼)影音⬇️愛的就是你:梁曉尊豐盛國際娛樂經紀酒店上班|采丞娛樂媒體

酒店賺錢-酒店娛樂經紀(爵尊聖日耳曼)影音⬇️豐盛國際娛樂知名酒店經紀梁曉尊 Lady of Law專業經紀團隊女人經濟要獨立,勇於改變自己的生活讓我們陪伴妳

悅萊酒店經紀國際娛樂影音⬇️悅萊酒店經紀推薦梁小尊