THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, October 7, 1995              TAG: 9510070012
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

DID THE JUSTICE SYSTEM WORK?

After listening to the heated controversy following the Simpson trial, including issues such as misapplication of justice or vindication of years of civil mistreatment, I conclude: It is no more justifiable for the majority of whites to be repulsed by the jury's verdict (because they ``know'' that Simpson did it) than for the majority of blacks to rejoice over this verdict and view it as a victory for black civil rights. Both of those viewpoints, while unavoidable, are prejudiced.

Had the defendant, victims, attorneys and jury all been of one color, the same decision would have been reached. Clouded, mishandled evidence that has been tampered with should yield reasonable doubt. And so it did. Like it or not, the American justice system worked.

The ``race card dealt from the bottom of the deck'' was neither necessary nor appropriate. It did, however, manage to inflame and polarize public opinion regarding the symbolic effect of race on justice. This is something we need to move away from and instead focus that energy on solving murders, electing public servants of integrity and effectively enforcing spousal-abuse laws.

EDWARD S. NELSON

Chesapeake, Oct. 5, 1995

Now the nation and the world have an answer to the question we have all been asking for a year and a half. O.J. Simpson is a free man.

Did our judicial system work? Yes, it did. Did it work well? No. This trial of the century has given us all a glimpse of the flawed side of our system of justice. A man of means, one who is willing and able to spend large sums on his defense, can tilt the odds to favor him. A similar case against someone who relies upon an appointed public defender would have undoubtedly gone the other way.

I am disappointed in the verdict and hope that reform of our legal system is now contemplated by our elected officials. If nothing else, perhaps we can all look back a decade from now and say that we watched the trial that brought reform to our justice system.

ALFRED GATTENBY

Virginia Beach, Oct. 4, 1995 by CNB