The Rodney King and O.J. Simpson Cases: Trials on America

The O.J. Simpson and Rodney King cases were both very important to their time. These cases uncovered a discrepancy between jurors and their sympathies based on race. The Rodney King case involved the prosecution of police officers who, on camera, brutalized a black man. The officers were prosecuted for misconduct and assault, however the white officers were all found innocent by a predominately white jury. Outraged mobs descended on Los Angeles in a plight for justice. Vehicles and properties were burned and vandalized, and even Rodney King pleaded with the public for an end to the violence. These events were followed closely by the trial of O.J. Simpson, a famous black man who lived a “white” life. His white ex-wife and her lover were brutally murdered, and a mound of evidence, including DNA, was brought against Simpson. However the man was found innocent by his predominately minority jury. He was later convicted in civil court however for damages. This time a white jury found the black man responsible for the deaths of his white ex-wife and her lover. These cases shed light on the discrepancies between jurors and their loyalties. They were not likely in these two cases to look at the facts and find sympathy with the deserving party; rather the white jurors found sympathy with white defendants and victims, while the minority jurors found sympathy with a famous black man. And the outraged public found fault with every decision made in both cases. (Upper right, OJ. and Nicole SImpson; Upper far right, Rodney King beating)