I figured I would give my take on the OJ Simpson parole opinion because if you have been watching any little bit of television in the last week you would have seen it covered. If not, OJ Simpson, infamous for what many called the trial of the 90s, when he was being tried for murdering his ex-wife and her friend. He was ultimately acquitted to the horror and also jubilation of many across the country. The murder trial was covered 24/7 and has become a cultural part of the 90s for Americans. OJ Simpson would break into a friend’s home years later with other less than reputable gentleman and take back some of his NFL era trophies and go to jail for armed robbery. He was given 35 years with the chance of parole and this week was granted the parole after 9 years and many are upset.
Mostly people are upset because they saw the armed robbery charge of 35 years as payback for the acquittal for the murder charge in the 90s. People who believe he committed the murder rejoiced when he finally was sent to jail. Now watching him be set free seems like another slap to the face to the American public. In the years OJ was in jail many award winning shows and movies have come out about the trial, the way it was conducted and many inconsistencies that came up in the years after. For example, OJ attempted to write a book called “If I did it” which to many was basically just a book that said “here is how I did it and look at me im free now”.
Even if he were to come out and say “Yes I did it, I murdered my ex-wife and got away with it!” there is no way to put him in jail because of what is called double jeopardy, meaning one can not be charged for the same crime twice. He can be taken to other claims courts, but ultimately he cant be sent to jail for the murder itself. It should be no surprise from how im writing this article when I say that I completely believe he committed the murder of his ex wife and her friend, but you might be surprised to hear that I actually agree with the decision to parole him.
In my mind OJ Simpson is a monster, but on all accounts in relation to the United States justice system, OJ was acquitted of murder. The armed robbery case that he was ultimately convicted of, in my opinon, went too far with the sentencing, mostly because people wanted to use the sentence as a sort of payback for the acquittal of murder. I don’t like that he is now going to be walking around on the streets, but we must set rules and stick by those rules. If there was a failure in all of this, it was by the united states justice system and how it can be essentially gamed.
We must treat the armed robbery case as a completely separate issue and at his parole hearing, the man that was robbed pushed for his parole. OJ by all accounts was a relatively good inmate for 9 and ½ years of the 35 year sentence and parole for a crime of this nature is completely understandable. If we believe that he should still be in jail, our qualms should lay with the system itself and not the individual. The rules of the justice system, in my opinion, let him free for murder, but that doesn’t mean we can lock him up for the same amount of time as payback for another unrelated crime.
Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges