I wondered if I would ever see this day. I’m glad I lived to see it. 13 years after his double murder acquittal and after 13 hours of juror deliberation - GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY.
As I recently wrote (see column below: OJ Simpson’s Baggage - Sept 20, 08) I’ve been reporting on the exploits of Orethal James Simpson since that day in June 1994 when I stood in the blood of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.
With his trusty, longtime defense attorney Yale Galanter at his side Simpson had maintained to a Las Vegas jury that it was okay for him to burst into a hotel room with a group of goons with guns and take back his memorabilia. And I’m sure deep in his heart he believes that. It was not an act - Simpson truly believes the world is out to get him and that he can operate under a different set of rules. He likely never thought that when he burst in and barked out the command that “No body leaves this room,” that that constitutes kidnapping. Kidnapping was one of the dozen charges Simpson was found guilty of committing.
Part of me says, “Finally! Justice has caught up with him.” What I really mean by that is that he’s finally going to be where he should have been 13 years ago after he murdered Nicole and Ron. But make no mistake about it. OJ Simpson is not going to prison for that. He’s going to prison because his escapade in that Vegas hotel room was caught on both audio and video tape and this time there was just no talking his celebrity way out of it.
I guess it doesn’t matter why he’s in prison. After his December 5th sentencing we may learn he’s in for what amouts to a life sentence. But if I’m the family of Nicole or Ron Goldman I’m not sure I’m feeling satisfied or particularly victorious.
There will be an appeal and as I predicted it will likely be based, in part, on the make-up of the all-white jury.
So be it. For now it feels good to say, “Mr. Simpson, meet Lady Justice…..”
~ DD
From the category archives:
Prisons
OJ Guilty!
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Presidential Pardon Time
This is the time in every outgoing President’s term where they pour over requests seeking Presidential pardons. I’m sure it’s no different for President George W. Bush as he gets set to vacate the White House.Those convicted of federal offenses - everything from white collar crimes to bank robbery - will have filed petitions by now, spelling out exactly why the nation’s Chief Executive should wipe clean their slate and restore to them the full rights of U.S. citizenship.
It is often a controversial and criticized exercise.
Take my on line poll at the end of the column ….
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Today’s Bullies - Tomorrow’s Criminals?
Have you ever been the victim of a bully? Ever stand silent and let a bully pick on someone?
Most people wouldn’t consider bullying a crime – but it could be creating criminals right before our very eyes.
A study from a group called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids concluded that nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in grades 6-9 were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24. And get this, 40 percent of those same boys grew up to have three or more criminal convictions.
In other words, today’s bully could be tomorrow’s criminal.
So, what can we do about it?
I’m a big believer in families taking responsibility for the actions of their children. But boys and girls reserve their bullying for when they are away from Mom and Dad. That means other adults have to step up at schools, camps, sporting events and youth activity centers.
What to do with a bully?
Vote in my online poll after the jump…
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Convicted Sex Offenders - The Other View
David is a convicted child molester, a registered sex offender, who has served his time and currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
So what should society do with him now that he’s out? Watch him like a hawk? Well, that’s already being done via the registry through which he must regularly report his every lifestyle move - where he lives, where he works, what car he drives, where he spends his time.
For many of us the quick answer would be, “Lock him up and throw away the key!” And until I met David I would have joined in that chorus. Once a sex offender always a sex offender - that’s been my mantra.
To make a very long story short David’s estranged wife accused him of sexually touching their 5 year old daughter during a visitation. Their 7 year old son allegedly saw it happen during a naptime when all three of them had laid down to take a quick snooze. [click to continue...]
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Kids of Criminals - Part 2
Warden Ralph Logan, a man the inmates used to call Idi Amin for his stern attitude, had an epiphany one day while entering the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover, Maryland .
He saw a little five or six year old girl wearing a beautiful Sunday-best pink dress, obviously there to visit her incarcerated father. As she stepped up to go through the metal detector Logan watched as she automatically reached up to take off the religious medals hanging around her neck.
“I thought to myself this little thing knows how to clear a metal detector!! What are we doing when our babies know this - and do it without even being prompted!?” [click to continue...]
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When parents go to prison children are punished too
When I was a rookie TV reporter covering crime I got the chance to go on an early morning drug raid with the Newark, New Jersey Police Department.
We met at a station house in downtown Newark at 3 in the morning, all sleepy eyed, coffee in hand, but ready for the pre-raid briefing. Naturally, I had brought along a camera crew.
We filmed the squad room briefing, the crew filmed me being outfitted in a bullet proof vest (the crew got vests too) and then we captured the scene as we set off in a slow, quiet convoy of police cars toward the intended target’s home. [click to continue...]
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