If former football great O.J. Simpson is superstitious, I assume he is now really fearful of the number 13.
Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas in September 2007. Last week, in a Nevada courtroom, the Juice was found guilty of charges stemming from that arrest and convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with a firearm, first degree kidnapping, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Was his conviction a response to his acquittal of his previous murder trial or is he the victim of retaliation? O.J. was accused of and acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994.
Following his exoneration, the nation was mostly dived among racial lines. Most African Americans cheered at the ruling while many whites considered his release a travesty of justice. Ironically, last week’s verdict came exactly 13 years after the dismissal of the 1994 murder charges. Was it bad luck or a twist of fate?
These guilty verdicts could send the former NFL and collegiate star to prison for the remainder of his life.
In 1997, a default judgment of $33.5 million was awarded in civil court by a jury against Simpson for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Simpson and Goldman but he paid almost nothing.
He also wrote a book titled “If I Did It” in 2006, purported to be a first-person fictional account of the murder had he actually committed it, but it was withdrawn by the publisher just before its release. The book was later released by the Goldman family and the title of the book was expanded to “IF I Did It: Confessions of a Killer.”
I wonder if Mr. Simpson believes in triskaidekaphobia, the fear of 13, a number commonly associated with bad luck in Western culture? I also question if he expects any of his former fans to protest this conviction and revolt as vigorously as they celebrated following his first sensational trial?
Do you think O.J. felt he had the protection of the African-American community this time around? Do you think his early success convinced him he was invincible, indestructible and unassailable?
After his first release, he was the target of many negative media reports. We know that racial stereotypes shape our understanding and interactions with others, and Hollywood’s portrayal of villains reinforce racial stereotypes, and O.J was definitely portrayed as a villain. He is and was the perfect subject for America’s ethnic “bad guy.” But was it all media hype?
O.J. Simpson should have realized how individuals and the media dehumanize their enemies to justify a negative attitude, and after his earlier ordeal, people saw him moving back to his previous lifestyle, including a Nicole Simpson look-a-like.
Attorneys for Simpson will appeal these latest convictions but will they base their plea asserting racial prejudice, retaliation or revenge? Will his lawyers try to identify the Juice as a victim? Jurors in the Simpson murder case said they had plenty of reasonable doubt to justify their verdict. News organizations should be nondiscriminatory when it comes to reporting, but O.J. has been their objective since 1994 and it is apparent that he left himself vulnerable by his behavior. Was he flirting with the enemy? I guess he is now wondering WWJC do? That is, “What would Johnny Cochran do?”
The prosecutors used the media in an organized and deliberate way to get a conviction, and O.J.’s attorneys will undoubtedly attempt to win their appeal by using the same tactics. Only time will tell if it works. No, I don’t think there will be any demonstrations for O. J. this time. What do you think?
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
