Reactions to the O.J. Simpson Verdict

The O.J. Simpson murder trial of 1995 was one of the most publicized and televised court proceedings in the history of the United States. In the “trial of the century”, the former football star and actor was accused of having murdered his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. After the immensely long trial dominating the news and arousing numerous discussions on a nationwide and even international level, Simpson’s eventual acquittal caused a highly controversial as well as heated reaction of the public. This paper analyzes the response to the outcome of the case by exploring various newspaper articles of the Los Angeles Times published immediately after the verdict. Primarily, it focuses on Californians’ both positive and negative voices but also considers national and international responses. Moreover, the paper approaches both the versatile reaction of particular groups and the trial’s aftermath that involved discussions touching race and gender issues.