From: JoJo
Date: 11/4/00
Time: 4:34:36 PM
Charlie:
Here is the text of the article.
Enjoy, JoJo
BBC Retries America's Trial of the Century
By T.R. Reid Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday , October 5, 2000 ; Page C07
LONDON, Oct. 4 A detailed investigation of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial by Britain's public broadcasting network has concluded that the jury's not-guilty verdict was the right one. Los Angeles police and prosecutors were so determined to convict Simpson, the investigation found, that they faked evidence and failed to pursue two "major leads" that might have led to other suspects in the murders of Simpson's ex-wife and her friend.
The BBC documentary "O.J.--The Untold Story" was broadcast in Britain tonight to mark this week's fifth anniversary of a verdict that obsessed and divided America. The program said new scientific techniques and further tests could still pinpoint the guilty party, but that the prosecutors have declined to pursue these possibilities.
The BBC report said that L.A. police badly botched the handling of evidence, as Simpson's defense attorneys argued at the nationally televised trial. The documentary concluded that crucial blood samples taken from the famous white Ford Bronco were probably planted long after the crime. The BBC said one incriminating bloodstain found on the glove compartment could have been put there only if the glove compartment had been removed first.
British criminologists Peter Harper and Terry Marston said on the program that British prosecutors would never have brought a case with such a tainted body of evidence.
Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law School professor who formed part of Simpson's "dream team" of defense lawyers, said today that he had not seen the BBC documentary, but strongly agreed with its conclusions about the evidence.
"The L.A. police have a long history of planting evidence," Dershowitz said. "They did it again in this case, and they got caught. I think the jury felt more strongly that the police planted evidence than they felt that O.J. was not guilty. But once they reached the first conclusion, they didn't have to go any further."
Most of the BBC documentary dealt with other possible suspects in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The BBC program pointed a finger of suspicion at O.J. Simpson's son by his first marriage, Jason, now 30. The documentary said he had been prescribed a drug used to treat epilepsy and "intermittent rage disorder," but had stopped taking the medicine shortly before the murder.
Next, the BBC focused on confessed drug dealer Bill Wasz, who is in prison in California for armed robbery. Wasz told the BBC, as he had told other media, that he had been offered $15,000 by an unnamed friend of Simpson to kill Nicole Simpson, but decided not to do it.
The Washington Post tried to track down O.J. and Jason Simpson for comment on the BBC program, but failed to reach either man. Neither Simpson spoke to the BBC.
Sandy Gibbons, public information officer for the Los Angeles district attorney's office, said no further investigation is planned. "The suspect we charged was found innocent. The police have said the case is closed. It's not our line of inquiry to pursue."
Gibbons said the prosecutors "were aware of Wasz" but that "this lead went nowhere." As for the BBC's suggestions about Jason Simpson, Gibbons said, "There's no comment we're going to be making on that."
Dershowitz said he had "heard the theory" that Simpson's son might have been involved in the killing, "but I've never heard any substantiation for it."
The attorney said he is "not a bit surprised" that prosecutors in Los Angeles did not pursue other leads suggested in the BBC report. "Everybody on the prosecution side came out ahead," Dershowitz said. "Their careers blossomed. The police involved, most of them are doing fine. They have no interest in reopening this case, and surely not in any investigation of the police conduct."
The BBC narrator, Stephen Rashbrook, pointed out that recent scandals over manipulation of evidence by the L.A. police have led to the reopening of many investigations. "A new investigation could solve the [Simpson] crime, but prosecutors have no intention of starting again," he said.
Dershowitz maintained that "America has closed its mind on this case and doesn't want to hear any more evidence." The BBC might agree with that conclusion. The British network said it has offered its documentary to American networks, but so far none has agreed to broadcast the 75-minute program.
© 2000 The Washington Post