Oj Simpson Mistakes

OJ Simpson - actor, athlete, and killer. After the brutal murder of his ex-wife, police were sure the evidence would convict him. However, numerous mistakes were made in the collection and handling of evidence. This was not enough to derail the investigation, OJ was clearly still the culprit, but it was enough to place doubt in the juror’s minds. If the evidence had been collected and handled correctly, Simpson would have gone to jail for his misdeeds. Orenthal James Simpson, or OJ for short, was born in San Francisco, California. In his youth he joined a gang, before getting detained at a youth guidance center. When he graduated high school his athletic prowess shone out, earning him an athletic scholarship to University of Southern …show more content…
Blood-swabs were left in a hot unrefrigerated van without being air-dried first. Items from the suspect and the victim were put in the same box, introducing a possible case for cross-contamination. (cite that). 8 cm3 of blood was marked down as drawn, yet there was only 6.5 cm3 of blood when the lab technicians got it. To make matters worse, the blood vial was carried around by detective Vannatter in his pocket for hours, rather than what he should have done: expedited the chain of command by delivering to the techs quickly as possible. Because of Vannatter’s fumble, defendants were able to suggest that the 1.5 cm3 of missing blood was planted on the crime scene. And when one of the lead detectives committed perjury, by lying about his racism none the less, it presented a perfect motive for the police to frame OJ. But if the 1.5 cm3 of blood had been planted, it would contain a chemical preservative called …show more content…
I sympathize with the jurors in this case - sending a man to a lifetime in jail is basically the same as killing him. This is not something to be done if there is even a slight chance that OJ is innocent. The jurors lacked critical evidence that turned up in the civil trial and DNA was a relatively new technology at the time. If the case had taken place now, the CSI effect would have the jury rendering a guilty verdict the second they saw the DNA. Of course, if the case did take place now, the prosecution would have wisely avoided the mistakes of the past. Bureaucracy, as annoying as it is, would have enforced chain of custody and recording of evidence. Technology like buccal swabs would have enabled better collection of evidence. Entirely new fields like computer forensics might have proven OJ’s guilt. Perhaps it is for the best that Simpson was