O.J. Simpson Is Guilty, But Is He THAT Guilty?

O.J. Simpson, left, hugs his sister Carmelita Durio, with his friend Thomas Scotto, right, after he was found guilty on all counts following his trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Friday.

Is O.J. Simpson 9-33 years worth of guilty? I don't think so. Frankly, the story of OJ's trial is more indicative of race relations in this country than it is of OJ's boneheaded, bad decision making.

There are several memorable events for which I remember exactly where I was during their occurrence, i.e., 9-11, the day I proposed officially to my wife, (February 2, 2008, her 27th birthday), our wedding day which is also my birthday (April 26, 2008), etc. In 1994, I was sitting in a hotel room in Stamford, CT when I saw breaking news on the OJ Simpson San Diego Freeway chase (June 17, 1994). In 1995, I was at a piano lesson in the living room of my teacher, Mrs. Mary Hauck's house and remember her disappointment when the OJ criminal acquittal was announced (October 3, 1995).

There was one thing that stood out to me throughout the OJ criminal trial, and that was how much White Americans hated OJ, whom they didn't know any more than Adam. I think for the first time, we had a major case that held the international media's attention involving a Black man and a White woman. Had OJ simply been accused of killing a Black woman, as was former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth, I assure you that some would have assumed he was guilty, but White America would not have cared. The majority of White Americans interviewed on TV, on the radio, at the corner store, at the local church, etc. just knew that OJ was guilty, and furthermore hated him because it was one of their own, a White woman that he allegedly killed. And that is the sad state of race relations in this country which forced President-elect Barack Obama to confront the topic of race in America head-on during his primary campaign for President.

Furthermore, the outrage expressed over OJ Simpson's alleged actions was greater than the feelings expressed over the trial of Modesto, California native Scott Peterson, who was convicted in another sensational, widely reported cased of allegedly decapitating and drowning his pregnant wife, Laci and her unborn baby. Very rarely did I turn on the TV or radio during his trial and read the same things said about Peterson that were stated about Simpson. For once a Black man, due to his money and connections had got over on the American justice system, just as rich, well-connected Whites had done for many years, and America just coudn't stand this. So now, they stand in judgement of the one who they built up and idolized when he was running the football and scoring touchdowns, but then degraded when he became the subject of a the most talked-about murder trial of our times.

So does OJ deserve some time behind bars or to make restitution to the injured parties for his actions? Absolutely! But in this case OJ does not deserve to spend up to 30+ years in prison for burglary and kidnapping charges when we have white collar criminals such as deceased Enron exec Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling such as who defrauded countless tens of thousands of innocent workers out of their pensions and life savings in get-rich-quick schemes which only benefitted themselves and their well-heeled associates. Yet, you can be assured that because of their status in life, again the public outcry for their punishment was almost nonexistent, and because the U.S. criminal justice system is skewed towards the haves who can afford the best legal representation, people in the position of Jeffrey Skilling who was sentenced to 20-24 years, generally only spend a few years in prison--if that--and then take up some other position on someones charity foundation, consult for big business, become a motivational speaker, or publish a book about their life.