Séminaire « Popular Culture, Politics and Identity » / « An accident waiting to happen: was the acquittal of O.J. Simpson inevitable? »

30 janvier 2025 | 14h00 - 16h00

  • Cet évènement est passé.

Update 29/01/25: séance UNIQUEMENT EN VISIO

Guillaume Thomas (Université Lyon 3): “An accident waiting to happen: was the acquittal of O.J. Simpson inevitable?”

When American football legend O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, a dirty game of finger-pointing began. Some blamed the debacle on the incompetence of the state professionals involved (often starting with lead prosecutor Marcia Clark), others on the cynicism of O.J. Simpson’s legal team. Without minimizing the impact of the errors committed during the criminal proceedings, it may be stated that the failure of the “Trial of the Century”, which left long-lasting scars on American society, was inevitable. One argument is that it was almost impossible for O.J. Simpson to be convicted, because of the social, racial, and geographic context in which the trial took place – thus raising significant questions about the fairness of the U.S. justice system.

When American football legend O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, a dirty game of finger-pointing began. Some blamed the debacle on the incompetence of the state professionals involved (often starting with lead prosecutor Marcia Clark), others on the cynicism of O.J. Simpson’s legal team. Without minimizing the impact of the errors committed during the criminal proceedings, it may be stated that the failure of the “Trial of the Century”, which left long-lasting scars on American society, was inevitable. One argument is that it was almost impossible for O.J. Simpson to be convicted, because of the social, racial, and geographic context in which the trial took place – thus raising significant questions about the fairness of the U.S. justice system.

Captation de la séance accessible en ligne : https://scalelite-conf.univ-rennes2.fr/playback/presentation/2.3/f847f2dec7a8b9e35fcf82e1bf8e53c1e767644b-1738234503783