THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510110015
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
I feel that the O.J. Simpson jury arrived at the wrong decision. This said, I can understand why many blacks wanted O.J. to go free. While I don't necessarily enjoy watching them gloat over a situation that was more significant than a sporting event, the abuses of the legal system are obviously there for all to see. I can accept that this time the ball bounced in their favor.
But when something is done badly, there has to be someone to blame. For me, there are two someones.
First, there is Johnnie Cochran, who could not overcome the mountain of evidence stacked against his client - enough evidence to convict any other man, black or white, who did not have millions to spend in his own defense. His only recourse was to introduce a strategy designed to split the country and put the jury in a no-win situation.
His job was to disprove the evidence. Instead, he said, ``OK, it looks like he did it, but what about all those blacks who don't get a fair shake. What about them?'' And then he commanded the jury to ``Send them a message.''
The other object of my anger and regret is the jury. Once Cochran introduced the race issue, jury members had little choice but to consider it. He gave them questions to be answered that did not belong in this case. It was not their duty to send a message to the LAPD.
If, for a reasonable time, they struggled with the two issues, if they anguished over whether to act on the evidence or send a message to the LAPD, then I could have accepted any conclusion they arrived at.
But unfortunately, they didn't appear to have struggled with anything. It was as if the two murders were not their problem when in fact the two murders should have been their only concern.
It's true they spent a lot of time on the case, but in life, you don't get credit for time spent; you get credit for time spent wisely.
The time they spent on this case was roughly equivalent to a school year. Imagine going to a class, studying, doing the homework, learning everything you can about the subject for nine months and then, when it comes time to take the final exam, you simply sign your name and hand it in incomplete after 15 minutes because you don't like the subject, or the teacher, the school, the school principal or the school system. To do so would be the height of irresponsibility, especially, if you knew the right answers but just didn't care.
PHIL TERRANA
Virginia Beach, Oct. 4, 1995 by CNB