Case of the Century

I was about 11 when the OJ Simpson trial happened.  I knew pretty much nothing of it at the time.  I had much better things to watch on television than a trial where I understood nothing of what was happening.  Of course, that didn't stop me from having an opinion on the outcome - like pretty much every other person on earth at that time.  I do remember it being a media frenzy.  I remember grownups talking about it 24/7 and I remember it being on the cover of every single magazine at the grocery story.

When it finally ended, I remember lots of people being angry about the outcome.  Pretty much every adult in my life at the time thought he was guilty, so I thought he was guilty. And when he was found not-guilty I just assumed that was something that happened sometimes, and went about my business.  Over the years, of course I've learned other details. But I still wouldn't call myself an expert on the case.

However, all of that changed this week when I started watching (late to the game again!) The People vs. OJ Simpson. This show, created by Ryan Murphy is just so, so good.  And educational too!  I'm learning so much more about the case than the little I knew at the time.  And what I find so fascinating is the amount of evidence the state had against OJ.  Like I said, I was too young to grasp everything that was happening in the court.  And I suppose, over the years I just assumed the state's case wasn't as strong as the defense's case, and that's why they lost. 

Nope! The State of California had what, in any other case, would have been called an air tight case.  They  presented mounds of evidence and witnesses.  They had a timeline and previous reports of violence against the victim committed by OJ.  And yet, the defense was able to squash just about everything with ridiculous rebuttals. Nothing stuck - they were like teflon.  It had to be fascinating - if not completely disheartening - to watch. 

Now, 20 years on it's still fascinating.  I try to think about what would happen if something like this had happened today.  Would the media circus be just as insane, or would it go barely noticed?  I'm not sure what scenario is more telling about the world we're living in today....