Belated Justice: The New American Legal Concept

"He finally got was he deserved" has been the mantra of almost every person who believed Simpson was guilty of those murders in 1994.

For all those who believed Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson would get away with murder in the deaths of Nichole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman 14 years ago; those prayers have been answered. While Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass repeatedly commented on how this verdict had nothing to do with the verdict of "not guilty" given to Simpson 13 years ago, (the first thought in my mind was "Lady, thou protest too much"), as she gave the 61 year old Simpson 33 years in prison with a chance of parole in 9 years. Clarence Stewart, the only co-defendant to stand trial with Simpson, received 7 1/2 to 27 years in prison. Over whose eyes was she trying to pull the proverbial wool?

In fact, it would appear that the only reason Stewart received so much time for a case that many legal experts said was overcharged, and a man who had no criminal record, was to mask the fact that Simpson was about to get his just deserts as the murderer many believed him to be. It seems it was far better to cloak this case of injustice under the judicial robes of proper propriety and to throw one innocent man to the wolves by doing so. After all, it was time to make Simpson pay for the murders of Nichole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

What is astounding is the remarks made by Bruce Fromong, one of the two sports memorabilia dealers robbed by Simpson and the other men, and then ejected from the Las Vegas courtroom after he stated, ""You've got to be kidding me!" directed toward Judge Glass. Fromong went on to later say, "I agreed completely with probation for the two guys who were just there backing up O.J. But McClinton stood a couple of feet from me with a gun in my face and said, 'I'll shoot your asses. Use a gun, go to jail. That's my theory". Get him out of the building," said Judge Glass, who also refused to let Fromong make a statement to the court before sentencing the now "infamous four". The four originally faced charges similar to Simpson and Stewart with up to 11 years in prison for Michael McClinton.

This after Glass sentenced McClinton to eight years' probation and suspended a prison term of two to seven years. Then Glass handed probation terms of six years to Charles Ehrlich, four years to Walter Alexander and three years to Charles Cashmore. Again, sweetheart deals for those who were involved in this alleged crime of a man trying to retrieve property stolen from him by alleged friends and after he was refused any help from the police in retrieving the stolen property.

These men were not so much "lucky" as they instantly became the prosecutor and the public's "dream team" in this case. By using them against Simpson, they were finally able to get the justice they believed Simpson was due. It mattered not that two of them wielded guns and made verbal threats of harm. It was more about manipulating the legal justice system to put Simpson in prison "where he belonged".

Instead, all four of the defendants who testified against Simpson received no prison time. Each of these men was sentenced to probation, including those who brought a gun and at least the one defendant who actually waved a gun around in the room during the so-called "kidnapping and robbery" case against Simpson. Not a single day of jail time. Who can honestly say this was a case based on laws and the inherent concept of justice? No one.

What really happened is that "belated justice" finally prevailed inside of that courtroom, from the five jurors (who believed and admitted on the juror questionnaires that Simpson had gotten away with murder) to the Judge who wanted to get her 15 minutes of fame by being the one to finally bring justice to those who believed they were the real victims in this case, the Goldman family.

What places perhaps "the final nail" into this coffin-like saga of delayed justice was said by the Goldman family after the sentencing was handed down to Simpson, "It's kind of a bitter sweet moment knowing that s-o-b is going to be in jail for a very long time, where he belongs (emphasis mine). There's never closure. Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs - behind bars." The Goldman family and the public who believed in Simpson's guilt of 13 years ago have finally received their pound of flesh from Simpson.

Unfortunately, the real losers in this case are Nichole Brown Simpson, Ronald Goldman, the Simpson children, and OJ Simpson, himself, now a victim to the newest legal concept of "delayed justice". The blindfold on Lady Justice has been yanked away and the scales have had one side filled with the weight of injustice. No one in the United States will ever again be faced with truth in a courtroom when it behooves the American justice system to change the rules.

Sources:

Nevada Jury Finds O.J. Simpson Guilty In Robbery Case

Goldman family: O.J. is where he belongs, December 5, 2008

Luckiest guys in Vegas: Simpson's 4 accomplices, By LINDA DEUTSCH, December 10, 2008