Dubbed the Trial of the Century, the Trials of Orenthal James Simpson have captured media attention, much in the same way as the Lindberg Kidnap-Murder Trial, the Trial of Doctor Sam Sheppard, and Watergate were the focus for earlier generations. Though other trials loom on the horizon, certainly the Simpson Matter -- as Judge Lance Ito named it -- will be the last trial of the Twentith Century to resonate in United States Law and social order. What have each of these case contributed ?
- The LINDBERG CASE: involved the kidnapping and murder of the child of Charles Lindberg -- the first American to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. As a result of this crime, American Law was altered. Kidnapping was made a Federal Crime -- legal juristiction and persuit ceased to end a State, or American territorial, lines.
- The SHEPPARD CASE: in which a thiry year old Doctor is charged with the murder of his wife while both are home. He claims, as his defense, the existance of an intruder -- a jury found him Guilty; on appeal, Attorney F. Lee Bailey is victorious - after ten years in prison, Doctor Sheppard is set free, only to die a broken man. The entertainment industry latched on to the case, resulting int the highly successful fictionalized movie and television drama THE FUGITIVE.
Upon reaching maturity, his son took up the battle to vidicate his father's name. In 1997, 43 years after Sam Sheppard was convicted of murdering his wife, DNA evidence established the existance of a third party -- another man -- and proved his innocence.
- WATERGATE: along with revealations about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, established the degree to which American leaders misused power -- and the role of the media in both hidding, and exposing, their abuses.
Watergate began as a case nobody wanted to report. Catherine Graham -- owner of THE WASHINGTON POST, which broke the story -- is reported to have asked of her reporters, "If it's such an important story, why aren't any other papers covering it?"
Eventually, the general media did cover it. As a result, a President resigned and the suffix "gate" is routinely added to anything the media wishes to lable a scandalous act.
These cases contain and reveal a pattern of American justice in the twentith century -- one which comes together in the Simpson Matter.
In the 1920's, the Lindberg case involved a public figure, resulting in global press coverage and public outrage. Prior to the Lindberg, kidnapping was almost conisdered a minor offense. It was the media attention -- the high profile nature of the case -- associated with the universal recognition of the name "Charles Lindberg", which made this a cause celebre and resulted in kidnapping being raised to the status of Capital Offense.
By the 1950's, the media had learned and consolitated it's power. The Power of the Press was a standard concept in the shaping of public opinion; and a new media, television, was demonstating its power to influence. Local issues, given the right emotional spin, grew to national importance. It was an environment in which, annually, children would disappear down wells -- but suddenly a nation could witness the rescue attempt. It was into this newly discovered media environment that the The Sheppard murder erupted. Sheppard was accused -- the media convicted.
Enter the 1970's. Public opinion and the politics youth -- baby boomers -- had focused attention on the questionable of American military involvement in Southeast Asia. Hitherto this, Presidents were immune from negative media originated reporting -- negativity was the provence of the political opposition. The phrase "off the record" carried real weight and meaning. But suddenly two young reporters were raising serious questions about the motivation behind a minor breakin to the Democratic Offices in Washington's WATERGATE COMPLEX. Ultimately, we know they were taking the first steps to revealing criminal bahavior on the part of a sitting president and his personal staff. However, investigating a president involves INVESTIGATION and CORROBORATION -- in sum, if requires acquistion and verification of facts.
Finally we come to the 1990's -- the Bundy Murders. The ex-wife of a media created celebrity is murdered. Like a doctor, as a record setting sports figure, the accused is a man of wealth and prestige. As in the Sheppard Case, there was an offical accusation -- no need to investigate, corroborate and most certainly no need to analyze. The authorities would announce their theory, they would "leak" information in support of it, and the media would dutifully report it as established fact. Should it be revealed that the leaks were false, it was classified as "old news" and forgotten. Since sources were unnamed, they could not be held responsible for falsehoods. Because of this, for much of the public, much that has been proven false remains asserted as truth. This brings us to the final parallel -- the unified pattern.
Fourteen hours after the Bundy Murders, both the prosecution and the media were proclaiming Simpson's guilt. While the media readily reported rumors and undocumented assertions, they were studious in their avoidance of doing anything investigatory. Here, we will do the job they avoided. In the end, you will discover how closely the Los Angeles District Attorney and the Los Angeles Police Department resemble the Nixon Whitehouse. Our methos shall be to allow the evidence to unfold just as it did for the authorities. You will learn what they knew, and when they knew it. Unlike most Simpson related pages -- which rely on repeated assertion of undocument accusation -- each point will be documented by testimony and evidence, with all sources identified. It is up to you -- you are now free to learn to learn the truth.
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