OJ

The US legal system, which is arguably the best can be baffling at times. In the Rittenhouse trial a newsman was found following the bus that carried the jurors and he was banned from the trial as there was concern that he might be intimidating the jury members. On the other hand, everyday outside the courthouse there are crowds of people protesting loud enough to be heard inside the courtroom. They are threatening to riot if the defendant is found not guilty. 500 national guard members are on hand to quell the riots. The jurors are not sequestered so they are aware of what is happening. They know that if they find not guilty their city may be set afire as was the case before the trial. Is this not intimidating? Will this effect their decision? Are we to the point where mob justice can rule the day? This has not always been the case. In the famous OJ Simpson trial of 25 years ago, a black man was accused of killing two white people, one of whom was his wife. The trial went on for 8 months and there were peaceful protest led by feminist but no violence. Thousands of women joined NOW. A recent poll shows that more than 50% of Blacks think OJ was guilty. He had a group of high priced lawyers called by the press the dream team and they used the race card to get him acquitted. The jury consisted of 8 blacks, 2 Hispanics, 1 half-Caucasian, half Native American, and 1 Caucasian female. The jury deliberated for four hours.