Memory Lane

I subscribe to Los Angeles Magazine. Odd? Not really. I live in Northern California and have been to L.A. a few times. Plus if I see something upcoming I can make plans for it. The magazine always has great things about the city in it from shopping to places to eat and attractions. The latest issue was all about the most infamous moments of crime in the city. They had a section on one of the most memorable crimes of the 90's.... The O.J. Simpson Trial.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. The white Bronco chase. It's been 19 years!

I can remember sitting in the living room watching television with my mom and my grandma. It happened on June 17, 1994 which also happens to be my Birthday. I have no idea what I did that year for my birthday but I do remember watching that entire chase. It seemed to last forever. Everyone started asking... Will he run out of gas? Where's he trying to drive to? Someone is in the car with him! Who is it? Did he kill Nicole? Why would he drive like this if he was innocent? News anchors were going nuts! People nationwide were calling in and sitting on the edge of their seats. It was history in the making. It was a car chase on NATIONAL LIVE TV. What made the chase more unbelievable was the fact that it was a high profile celebrity and he was big enough to interrupt the NBA game 5 playoff telecast. 

When the chase finally ended by him driving back to a home in Brentwood, California the entire world thought it was done. Wrong! OJ wouldn't get out of the Bronco. We sat transfixed in front of the television waiting to see what would happen next. After much coaxing O.J. finally got out of the Bronco and was immediately arrested. Then of course there was the trial. He was in for the fight of his life. He was being accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman who happened to be there because he was dropping off a pair of sunglasses. The trial lasted 9 months which was the longest murder trial in history for California. The trial itself had many memorable moments in it, one being this...

If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit! O.J. tried to squeeze on the blood soaked, leather glove found at the crime scene. His law team made this a factor in his innocence. During the trial O.J. and his lawyers came up with many different scenarios for why and who could have killed Nicole and Ron. They blamed gangs, they blamed the mob. The lawyers even went so far as to say that maybe Nicole had a stalker and the person thought Ron was her boyfriend so the stalker killed them both. 

Either way at this point America was divided in it's decision. Many people believed he was guilty while others said innocent. When the verdict was read (which my middle school interrupted class for us to hear) shock swept across the states. INNOCENT! In the 19 years that have followed we've seen some crazy things from OJ. He was found innocent of the murders but was found guilty on having to pay the Goldman family monetary damages. Then he wrote a book titled, If I killed her this is how I would have done it. Hmmm..... but then karma got him and he was arrested in Vegas trying to steal back some of his own sports memorabilia. He's currently serving 19 years in prison for it. So what do you think? Do you think OJ was guilty back in 1994?