O.J. Simpson's glove: Did Johnnie Cochran tamper with evidence?
One of the prosecutors on the losing side of the 1995 murder trial claims that the late attorney illegally fussed with evidence to help seal Simpson's acquittal
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2012, AT 12:55 PM
In one of the most famous scenes of O.J. Simpson's 1995 trial, the defendant grimaces as he tries to squeeze on one of the leather gloves linked to his ex-wife's murder. Photo: AP Photo/Sam
O.J. Simpson was formally cleared of murder charges in a headline-grabbing trial in 1995, but he's still spent the better part of the last two decades being prosecuted in the court of public opinion. And now, a new charge comes from former Los Angeles deputy district attorney Christopher Darden, a key member of the prosecution team. Darden says that Simpson's defense lawyer, the late Johnnie Cochran, tampered with a critical piece of evidence — a pair of infamous leather gloves — that linked Simpson, a former football star and actor, to the killing of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Is this new charge worth looking into, or is it 17 years too late to make a difference? Here, a brief guide:
Remind me: What role did the gloves play?
Prosecutors said the gloves proved beyond all doubt that Simpson was the one who stabbed his former wife and her friend. One of the gloves was found at the murder scene, and the other, soaked in blood, was found on Simpson's estate. In one of the racially charged trial's most memorable moments, Simpson struggled to fit the gloves onto his hands. Cochran later told the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
How did Cochran allegedly tamper with the gloves?
"I think Johnnie tore the lining," Darden said at a panel discussion last week at Pace Law School in New York City. "There were some additional tears in the lining so that O.J.'s fingers couldn't go all the way up into the glove." When asked to elaborate the next day, Darden said something looked different about the glove when Simpson tried to put it on. A bailiff told him that the defense team had the glove during a lunch break before Simpson's display. "It's been my suspicion for a long time that the lining has been manipulated," Darden said.
Prosecutors said the gloves proved beyond all doubt that Simpson was the one who stabbed his former wife and her friend. One of the gloves was found at the murder scene, and the other, soaked in blood, was found on Simpson's estate. In one of the racially charged trial's most memorable moments, Simpson struggled to fit the gloves onto his hands. Cochran later told the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
How did Cochran allegedly tamper with the gloves?
"I think Johnnie tore the lining," Darden said at a panel discussion last week at Pace Law School in New York City. "There were some additional tears in the lining so that O.J.'s fingers couldn't go all the way up into the glove." When asked to elaborate the next day, Darden said something looked different about the glove when Simpson tried to put it on. A bailiff told him that the defense team had the glove during a lunch break before Simpson's display. "It's been my suspicion for a long time that the lining has been manipulated," Darden said.
read more http://theweek.com/article/index/233084/oj-simpsons-glove-did-johnnie-cochran-tamper-with-evidence
Christopher Darden: O.J. Simpson's Lawyer, Johnnie Cochran Tampered With Glove
Nearly seventeen years after O.J. Simpson walked away from his murder trial a free man, a prosecutor at the center of the case has alleged that the lead defense lawyer tampered with a crucial piece of evidence.
Former Los Angeles deputy district attorney Christopher Darden on Thursday (September 6) accused Simpson defense lawyer, the late Johnnie Cochran, of "manipulating" one of the infamous gloves that the prosecution said linked Simpson to the grisly double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
After Simpson struggled to fit the gloves on his hands -- in one of the defining moments of the racially charged trial that captivated the nation -- Cochran famously admonished the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
On Thursday (September 6), during a panel discussion about the trial at Pace Law School in New York City, Darden, a member of the prosecution team, declared: "I think Johnnie tore the lining. There were some additional tears in the lining so that O.J.'s fingers couldn't go all the way up into the glove."
Darden said in a follow-up interview on Friday that he noticed that when Simpson was trying on a glove for the jury its structure appeared to have changed. "A bailiff told me the defense had it during the lunch hour." He said he wasn't specifically accusing anyone, adding: "It's been my suspicion for a long time that the lining has been manipulated."
Nearly 20 years ago, O.J. Simpson's lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, famously said of a bloody black glove, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Now a professor says that the defense tampered with the glove, which did not appear to fit. NBC's Diana Alvear reports.
A member of O.J. Simpson's defense team has rebuffed claims that lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran tampered with a key piece of evidence in order to help Simpson walk away from his Los Angeles murder trial a free man 17 years ago, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
Former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden on Thursday accused Simpson's defense lawyer, the late Johnnie Cochran, of "manipulating" one of the infamous gloves that the prosecution said linked Simpson to the grisly double murder of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
After Simpson struggled to fit the gloves on his hands -- in one of the defining moments of the racially charged trial that captivated the nation -- Cochran famously admonished the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
read more at http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/09/13757320-member-of-oj-simpson-legal-team-rebuts-glove-tampering-claims?lite
O.J. Simpson defense lawyer's friends say he didn't tamper with the 'bloody glove'
Associated Press
O.J. Simpson struggling to put on the infamous bloody glove in court.
Did he or didn’t he?
Friends and colleagues of O.J. Simpson’s late defense lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran, including those who worked with him in the O.J. Simpson murder case, are denouncing accusations by a former prosecutor that Cochran tampered with the infamous "bloody glove," the Los Angeles Times reported.
The glove was key evidence in the 1995 trial of football great Simpson, who was acquitted of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
On Thursday, former prosecutor Christopher Darden suggested that Cochran, one of Simpson's defense attorneys, had manipulated the glove, Reuters reported:
Thursday, during a panel discussion about the trial at Pace Law School in New York City, Darden, a member of the prosecution team, declared: "I think Johnnie tore the lining. There were some additional tears in the lining so that O.J.'s fingers couldn't go all the way up into the glove."
But Cochran's supporters have jumped to his defense, calling Darden's claims "slanderous," the Times reported. Cochran died in 2005:
"As members of the defense team, Carl Douglas and I were present in court on the day that Chris Darden asked O.J. Simpson to try on the glove,” attorney Shawn Holley said in a statement to The Times. “Mr. Darden's self-serving assertion that Johnnie Cochran tampered with the glove — or any piece of evidence — is false, malicious and slanderous.
During the so-called "Trial of the Century," Simpson tried on the bloody gloves and held up his hands in front of the jury box to let everyone see that they wouldn't fit, leading to Cochran's declaration: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
O.J. Simpson struggling to put on the gloves:
read more here http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/09/09/9881/oj-simpson-defense-lawyers-friends-say-he-didnt-ta/
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