Impact of O.J. Simpson: Football Idol to National Shock

The was the third most universally impactful televised moment of the last 50 years. Everybody in the united states had their eyes on the television watching the low speed police chase with Simpson or his trial being televised on national television. Simpson’s wife was murdered on June 12, 1994. A few days later Simpson became the lead suspect in the murder case and on June 17, 1994 when the police went to his house to arrest him, they found him on the road in a white ford bronco fleeing away.

Simpson is influential in how people were stunned by his crime due to the popularity he gained from his football career, his actions changing the way domestic violence was seen in america, and his trial changing how forensics is conducted in the field.

Before his trial Simpson was an all-star football running back. He won the heisman trophy while playing for the USC Trojans. Simpson was a first overall pick going to the Buffalo Bills.

Get quality help now
Prof. Finch
Prof. Finch
checked Verified writer

Proficient in: Crime

star star star star 4.7 (346)

“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”

avatar avatar avatar
+84 relevant experts are online
Hire writer

He set many records in his 11 year career and made it into the NFL hall of fame (Becker). He was famous across america and an idol to the football and black community. These are reasons that seeing someone that well respected and liked being chased by the police would be a shocking sight. America did not want to believe that Simpson had committed a double homicide and that is a big part of how he was never charged with his murders.

Prior to the Simpson case domestic violence was shrugged off to the side and although it happened often nobody acknowledged it or did anything about it.

Get to Know The Price Estimate For Your Paper
Topic
Number of pages
Email Invalid email

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

"You must agree to out terms of services and privacy policy"
Write my paper

You won’t be charged yet!

Just weeks before her murder Nicole Simpson had spoken to her friend saying, 'Things are really bad between OJ and I, and he's going to kill me, and he's going to get away with it.' After Nicole’s death there was a quick rise in domestic abuse awareness and reports because women finally saw what their situations could lead to. The rise in awareness and reports was instrumental in getting the Violence Against Women Act passed through Congress in 1994. That bill granted 1.6 billion dollars of funding over the next 6 years, and included provisions for mandatory arrests of abusers (Alter). Although what happened to Nicole was tragic it did do a world of good for other women that were in the same situation as her.

Simpson committed a double homicide. This was not a fact at the time of the trial but is is now after the research put into the case. The reason Simpson was let off the hook was because of the sloppy work the forensics department working on the case did. Examples of these sloppy mistakes include: “placing blood evidence swatches inside plastic, instead of paper containers, where their DNA could degrade; collecting some blood evidence weeks after the crimes had been committed; walking around for hours with a vial of blood evidence instead of delivering it immediately to a laboratory for preservation, packaging and storing, and spilling Mr. Simpson's blood in the very laboratory where, shortly after, other samples would be tested.” (Kolata). Simpson being freed of his crimes led to major regulation changes amongst forensics. Now when dealing with DNA the samples are sent to the lab immediately also, the chain of possession sheet is always kept with the evidence and is clearly and thoroughly filled out.

Simpson is influential in how his crime affected millions due to the unpunished murder of his ex-wife, his actions shining light on domestic violence in america, and the messy trial changing how forensics is handled in the field. Simpson was an idol to america before his murder case with his heisman trophy and his hall of fame professional career. His domestic violence attacks, however tragic did shine light on the lethality and truth of domestic violence. Simpson walking out of the courthouse a free man put everyone in forensics to shame and with the shame came new regulations so another murderer will not go unpunished. Simpson is an awful person and should not be looked up to by anyone but the results of his actions did have a strong impact on America

Updated: Nov 30, 2023
Cite this page

Impact of O.J. Simpson: Football Idol to National Shock. (2022, May 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-oj-simpson-verdict-essay

Impact of O.J. Simpson: Football Idol to National Shock essay
Live chat  with support 24/7

👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!

Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.

get help with your assignment