Reaction to the verdict in the O. J. Simpson criminal trial

On Tuesday, October 3, 1995, the verdict in the O. J. Simpson murder case was announced and Simpson was acquitted on both counts of murder.^[1] Although the nation observed the same evidence presented at trial, a division along racial lines emerged in observers' opinion of the verdict, which the media dubbed the "racial gap".^[2] Immediately following the trial, polling showed that most African Americans believed Simpson was innocent^[3] and justice had been served, while most White Americans felt he was guilty and the verdict was a racially motivated jury nullification^[4][5] by a mostly African-American jury.^[6] Current polling shows the gap has narrowed since the trial, with the majority of black respondents in 2016 stating they believed Simpson was guilty.^[7][8][9]

The narrowing racial gap is primarily attributed to several factors: Daniel Petrocelli disproving all of the blood planting claims at the wrongful death civil trial,^[10] defense witness Henry Lee publishing a peer review study in 1996 that effectively refuted the contamination claim that disputed the validity of the states DNA evidence, and the fading of Simpson's celebrity status since the trial.^[11]

Simpson's celebrity status faded among African Americans after he relocated to Florida and disappeared from the public eye. His arrest and conviction in 2008 for armed robbery brought him back into the public spotlight, especially after he received a disproportionately higher prison sentence than his co-conspirators, which generated controversy even from his detractors,^{[12][13][14][15]} but the response from African Americans was relatively muted,^[16] and pundits opined this demonstrated how much the conscience of Black America has evolved since the time the verdict was announced.^[17][18]

The trial and verdict had an historic impact on American culture,^[19][20] credited with transforming public opinion about domestic abuse from being considered a private familial matter to a serious crime^[21][22] as well as raising awareness about the stigma that interracial couples still face from both white and African Americans.^[23] The enduring blowback also likely contributed to the passing of California Proposition 209 in 1996 that ended affirmative action in the state, due to the decline in empathy towards issues of racial discrimination and civil rights among White Americans.^[24]