UNITED STATES: MEDIA, POLICE, AND BY-STANDERS OUTSIDE THE COURT HOUSE WAIT FOR JURY'S DECISION IN O.J. SIMPSON CASE

Record ID: 337529

  • Title: UNITED STATES: MEDIA, POLICE, AND BY-STANDERS OUTSIDE THE COURT HOUSE WAIT FOR JURY'S DECISION IN O.J. SIMPSON CASE
  • Date: 1st October 1995
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 2, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV EXTERIOR OF COURT-HOUSE 0.08 2. SV POLICE STANDING BY 0.12 3. LV/SV STREET ARTIST'S PLACARDS (3 SHOTS) 0.38 4. SV POLICE ON HORSEBACK PASSING COURT-HOUSE 0.42 5. SCU BY-STANDERS SAYING HOW LONG THEY EXPECT THE JURY TO BE DELIBERATING (ENGLISH) (3
  • Embargoed: 16th October 1995 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA6HNZ3PDVG9BGPDQ61JY69XWL
  • Story Text: Jurors in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles began deliberations on Monday (October 2) to decide whether the former football star is a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a vast police frame-up.

    While Los Angeles police went on an alert throughout the city to contain possible trouble once the verdict is announced, jurors meeting behind closed doors sifted through nine months of evidence and testimony.

    America is split along racial lines over Simpson's guilt or innocence and legal analysts believe the panel of nine blacks, two whites and one Hispanic may end up just as divided.

    Both sides presented such diametrically opposed theories during the trial's closing arguments that jurors may have wondered whether they were even talking about the same case.

    Prosecutors depicted the defendant as a man with a "short fuse" who exploded in a murderous rage on June 12, 1994, killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. But the defence painted Simpson as the innocent victim of an evidence-planting conspiracy led by a racist rogue cop, now-retired detective Mark Fuhrman.

    Among legal analysts, the consensus is that jurors will deliberate for at least two weeks before returning a verdict or declaring themselves deadlocked.

    Mindful of the racial tensions surrounding the trial, city officials were taking no chances. Police were placed on a "modified tactical alert," allowing commanders to react swiftly in the event of violence. As a precaution, the street in front of the courthouse was blocked off.

    The latest Newsweek poll showed that 38 per cent of Americans found the prosecution's case more convincing, compared to 30 per cent favouring the defence. But broken down by race, 40 per cent of whites leaned towards the prosecution, while 56 per cent of non-whites favoured the defence.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register