various possible endings

[Paul V McNutt]

There was a witness who came forward offering to testify against O J Simpson. Marcia Clark did not use him because nobody could back up what he said. He said he saw OJ at the airport the night of the murder throwing away a small suitcase in a trash can. By the time the police checked the trash can it had been emptied. So as Marcia Clark could tell you, there is no proof to what he said. There is testimony that backs him up. Kato Kaelin said as he help load O J's luggage into the limo that would take him to the airport, he reached for a small suitcase. O J grabbed it and said I will take care of that one. No one saw the small suitcase when OJ returned. The POD here is we make the witness more of a fan. He wants a souvenir of his encounter with OJ. He fishes the suitcase out of the trash. When he opens it and sees the bloody knife, clothes and Bruno Magli shoes, he calls the police. A few hours later when police identify the dead body of Nichole and look up OJ history of abuse, a warrant for OJ's arrest is issued. When the police arrive at his house, they have a search warrant. The next morning, OJ is arrested and returns to Los Angeles as a prisoner. So what happens next? Does a witness directly tying OJ to the crime make a difference? Does OJ agree to a plea bargain? Does his ego inspire him to fight for his freedom? I assume the case still falls into the bumbling hands of Marcia Clark. If she calls the trash can witness, does that overcome her incompetence?

 

[Apollo 20]

Actual physical evidence would have strengthened the prosecution's case considerably. There would be evidence tying the clothes to Simpson and the blood on them would match the victims. You then have one witness who ties the suitcase to Simpson and solid evidence placing Simpson at the airport. That is strong physical evidence with a proper foundation and it would be backed up by the blood evidence in and on his Bronco. It's a pretty compelling physical and circumstantial case. Clark wasn't as incompetent as you make her out to be; she was a veteran prosecutor with a very good conviction rate. Where she came up short was in the spotlight of intense publicity; it was an environment she was ill-suited to by both temperament and experience. And Simpson had the best lawyers money could buy, lawyers who seized on everything she did imperfectly as if it were proof of innocence. Here, we have an unusually compelling case. Nothing is airtight, but I don't think even a fresh out of law school graduate could screw it up and even a jury that hated the LAPD and was looking to make a statement would have a hard time not returning a conviction. With this kind of evidence, the only plea bargain OJ might be making is one that keeps him off death row unless his lawyers can convince the jury that the killing was a heat of passion thing rather than premeditated.

 

[Archibald]

The only interesting thing with an A.H OJ Simpson TLs is that any little change can butterfly the Kardashians since their father become famous being a lawyer in that case...

 

[Paul V McNutt]

Yes, if OJ accepts a plea bargain the Kardashians never become famous, neither does Johnny Cochran, Marcia Clark, Christopher Darden or Kato Kaelyn.

 

[Paul V McNutt]

Cochran would still have been a prominent lawyer and still have died. Clark would still be a prosecutor and Kaelyn would have had to find a new place to live.

 

[Paul V McNutt]

I I heard an NPR report on the upcoming documentary about OJ. In which one of the jurors said OJ's acquittal was payback for Rodney King. I read on AH.Com that there were three jurors determined to find OJ not guilty even if it mean jury nullification. ITTL as it was OTL,Clark does not use jury consultants and does not use all of her challenges. So they still get on the jury. There is a hung jury, maybe a 9-3 one. By the time of the retrial, the prosecution has learned to be more careful in jury selection. They might ask for the death penalty. If you remove jurors with objections to the death penalty, you get a more pro prosecution jury pool. After the prosecutors and the press talk to the jurors, they learn that the evidence they left out was very persuasive. The jurors opinions also tell then to get a better DNA expert and to firm up the domestic violence argument. They would already know that the glove demonstration was a disaster. So ITTL OJ gets convicted on the second go round.

 

[Apollo 20]

I I heard an NPR report on the upcoming documentary about OJ. In which one of the jurors said OJ's acquittal was payback for Rodney King. I read on AH.Com that there were three jurors determined to find OJ not guilty even if it mean jury nullification. ITTL as it was OTL,Clark does not use jury consultants and does not use all of her challenges. So they still get on the jury. There is a hung jury, maybe a 9-3 one. By the time of the retrial, the prosecution has learned to be more careful in jury selection. They might ask for the death penalty. If you remove jurors with objections to the death penalty, you get a more pro prosecution jury pool. After the prosecutors and the press talk to the jurors, they learn that the evidence they left out was very persuasive. The jurors opinions also tell then to get a better DNA expert and to firm up the domestic violence argument. They would already know that the glove demonstration was a disaster. So ITTL OJ gets convicted on the second go round.

Yes to all of this with a caveat. A "death qualified" jury will tend to be more favorable to prosecutors. As for the jury nullification, I also understand that to be the case in the first trial. However, juries do strange things. With solid compelling evidence, even jurors intent on a finding of innocence can change their minds. The thought of letting a murderer off to make a point can wilt in the face of pressure from other jurors and the realization that their recalcitrance is simply dragging things on long after they decided they want to go home. Physical evidence of the kind posited here might have changed those minds and thus averted a second trial.