It was the mugshot seen everywhere. The case the shook a decade and changed the way the U.S public handles the crimes of celebrities. In 1994, then America’s sweetheart Orenthal Simpson better known as O.J Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of his estranged wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. There had never been a phenomenon like this before. It further separated an already divided nation and sparked a conversation on the obsession and idealizing of America’s elite. There have been many depictions of the crime and following court case, but only few correctly capture the essence of the race, celebrity, and power that lied at the center of the case. Ezra Edelman’s OJ: Made in America is one of the better documentaries. Edelman’s OJ: Made in America uses technical codes, specifically music and editing to explore the “Hollywood-esque” magnitude and celebrity of the OJ Simpson murder case and unbiasly connect viewers to the case.
The documentary goes through a series of songs and editing techniques that carry the film through different genres and represent the movie nature of the OJ Simpson vs. The People of Los Angeles case. It opens with an upbeat song similar to the opening credits of a Tarentino Film. As the music plays, descriptions and images of the horrendous crime flash across the screen. In “What a Documentary Is, After All” Carl Plantinga says the filmmaker’s intent is to create “representations that combine saying and showing”
The book that I am going to introduce is Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Got Away With Murder, written by Vincent Bugliosi, and was published on June 17, 1996. We all know that Nichole Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death and their bodies were discovered on June 12, 1994 early morning. It was said that after a car chase, O.J. was found with $9,000 I cash, his passport, disguise, and a gun. O.J. Simpson who is her ex-husband was acquitted October 3, 1995, for their deaths in a trial that riveted the nation and divided people along racial differences. In 1997, he was ordered to pay a little over $33 million for their deaths. O.J. Simpson is still serving time in prison for things like kidnapping, robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and numerous other charges. Mr. Bugliosi sums up five reason why the case was lost. Those five can be labeled as the jury, the change in venue or settings, the judge allowing the defense to play the race card, the stupidity of the prosecution throughout the trial, and lastly the summation of what should really have been done. But in honesty when the media started reporting about this case it was already falling apart.
On June 12, 1994, the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found dead at her home in Brentwood, CA. Orenthal James Simpson, or O.J. Simpson was notified of their deaths and immediately taken into custody for questions. Upon the collection of various pieces of evidence from the crime scene, all avenues pointed to Simpson as the culprit for the double murder. The conclusion of Simpson criminal trial resulted in his acquittal. There were various reasons for this acquittal. The most prominent reasons include accusations of racism, evidence contamination, and the lack of faith in DNA profiling. This paper will discuss the issues that arose with the trial in depth and offer an explanation and solution to resolving issues
The O.J. Simpson trial was one of the most recognizable cases in American History. It went on for 9 months. At 12:10 am on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were found murdered right outside of Bundy drive condo in Brentwood. Evidence found in the scene led the Police to suspect that O.J. Simpson was the murderer. Although the prosecution pointed to the evidence of the case Simpson lawyers argued that the police bungle the investigation and planted evidence. An examination of the case is that one of the policemen was racist and planted evidence in the scene to accuse O.J. Simpson of being the murderer.
There have been many cases over the years within in the criminal justice system where people have walked free from committing a crime as well as those being put behind bars for being accused of committing a crime they never committed. DNA testing in the criminal justice system can be the decision maker for someone who is either going to walk free from the crime they possibly committed or get put behind bars for a crime they may have not committed. DNA testing has been used to sentence hundreds and convict thousands of people across the country every year. DNA evidence is one of the best examples on how technology has made convicting the criminals who have committed a crime much easier than it has been done in the past. DNA evidence does not necessarily pinpoint the exact criminal on who have may commited the crime, but it does bring it down to a handful of the population who are being questioned for the crime. It is one of the most accurate ways of finding out evidence as long as it is properly done and handled correctly.
The film begins in New York City in a courthouse, it is clear by the expressions on everyone’s face including the judge that everyone is tired and it has been a long trial. The viewers are told that an unidentified, young Hispanic male originating from the slums is on trial for supposedly stabbing his father to death. The viewers are also given the final closing arguments, including the testimony of two witnesses; one an elderly man saying that he heard the father and son argue then heard a body drop, and the other a woman who lives across the street who claims to have seen the boy murder his father. The Jurors and audience are told that if a verdict of guilty is found then there is a mandatory death sentence that will follow.
The unsolved murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald L. Goldman has become one of the most discussed cases in all of history. Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, the formal professional football player and the ex-husband of Nicole Brown has always been the main suspect in this case. Although found not guilty by the jury, many still believe he was the killer. In this paper, we will discuss in great detail the events that took place at the time of the murder, as well as why or why not O.J. is guilty. If O.J. isn’t guilty, who could have been the mastermind behind these murders?
Imagine a police chase being broadcasted on tv for millions of people to see, a man who is running now with a gun, money, and a disguise less than twenty four hours after his ex wife and new lover were murdered. Now he is being arrested and tried with their murders and against all evidence pointing towards the rest of his life in prison, he is released after 16 months of awaiting a verdict. Well this isn’t a soap opera and that isn’t Sonny Corinthos, that is your favorite athlete, former heisman trophy winner and celebrity, Oj Simpson. On October 3rd 1995, Oj Simpson was found innocent of killing Nicole Simpson and her believed lover Ron Goldman in one of the most controversial and corrupt court cases ever. Many people
The O. J. Simpson double murder case, also titled “People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a trial in which James O.J Simpson, a former National Football League player was convicted at the Los Angeles County Superior Court of two murder offenses on June 12, 1994. He was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, a restaurant waiter at Mezzaluna. The trial spans for a period of eight months. The opening statements were read on January 23, 1995, whereas the verdict, which left Simpson a free man, was declared on October 3, 1995. “The Trial of The Century,” as it is commonly known, has been described as the most publicized trial in history. However, before Simpson could be arrested and prosecuted, they had to go through an investigation process with the implementation of some techniques used by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as this essay illustrates.
In America, violence has always been an integral part of national culture. Crime and bloodshed, euphemized through use of “action” (this has a source) plots, are glorified both on and off screen. The more disturbing the act of violence, the more enthralled the public seems. The most prolific of crimes, those committed by infamous serial killers, inspire the most attention. As said by Jeff Lindsay, creator of the book series that inspired the wildly-popular television program, Dexter, “We’re sickened and disgusted, but we need to know. And the more we know about the scene, the more we really are horrified” (“Sympathy for the Devils”). Violence, especially committed by this special class of felons, is enthralling. News reports play a role in this strange attraction, as it is through the news that people even have knowledge of such killers, but the evolution in the “serial killer genre” (Lindsay, “Sympathy for the Devils”) of film and television helps to desensitize people to the gruesome murders that are committed. This begs the question of whether this disturbing trend should be stopped, lest the American “culture of violence” (this has a source) continues to grow stronger. Through news reports, film, and television, criminals are constantly romanticized through use of sympathetic characterization and gratuitous depictions of their crimes, which lends to peoples’ incr
When the Canadian Daniel Voshart saw the shaky cell phone video of a white police officer in South Carolina, shooting a black man in the back eight times, he couldn’t look away. Waves of disgust washed over him as Walter Scott fell to the ground. This was his motive for analyzing every frame in the video, and then he stumbled across Frame 394. This frame changed the entire case, because it showed that the police officer was innocent. The documentary, Frame 394, followed Daniel Voshart and his journey of him getting entangled in one of America’s most high-profile police shootings.
This essay is purposed for the evaluation of the provocative case, The State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson, more commonly referred to as O.J. Simpson. On the 12th of June, 1994 the homicide of Nicole Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, occurred at her home. Reports of a body sprawled out the front of Nicole Simpson’s house were made through a 911 call. On arrival, police made the discovery of Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman’s dead bodies outside the house. The review of this investigation will be achieved through; Assessment of the key aspects of the process of investigation. Evaluation of the main investigative flaws made throughout the investigation. Identifying strategies to prevent these flaws from happening in
On June 17, 1994 when police charged Orenthal James Simpson, Brown's ex-husband, and after leading police on a 60 mile low speed chase down the highways of southern Los Angeles in his friend Al Cowling's white Bronco, was arrested and jailed without bail, the story became even more complicated. This was when the police knew this would not be just any murder case. This was OJ Simpson, the famous football player, this would be complicated. Their only hope of conviction was the evidence that would place him as the murderer.
Michael Moore is an American documentary filmmaker, who is best known for his line of controversial documentaries exploring and addressing political and social issues in the US. Moore has a number of films, including 9/11: Fahrenheit, Sicko and Roger and Me for example. In particular, he has produced and directed “Bowling for Columbine” which I will be close viewing for my 3.9 report. During this film he raises and explores the issue of gun violence in the United States and uses a variety of techniques to showcase his thinking. In the two excerpts “Columbine” and “Fear of Black Men”, I will be discussing how he uses archival footage (stock footage) and nondiegetic sound to help to steer his audience into thinking a certain way or to make them feel connected while watching.
A very popular 1995 film involving crime is “Bad Boys” directed by Michael Bay. Michael Bay and his team of writers were able to film a highly intense action-comedy based around two detectives fighting organized crime. By examining distortions, crime causation theories, and the image portrayed in “Bad Boys,” the viewer is absorbed into the Hollywood perspective of our justice system.
It is difficult to believe that O.J. Simpson was once a respected and celebrated professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. However, his image was irrevocably shattered on June 17, 1994 when Simpson was involved in a car chase that lasted about an hour on California's I-405 (O.J. Simpson leads L.A. police on a high-speed chase, 2013). Dubbed the "Crime of the Century," O.J. Simpson's trial was a media circus and was sensationalized for a number of reasons including Simpson's status as a celebrity, the mishandling of evidence, and the issue of race.