BEYOND O.J.: JUDGMENT COMING FOR ALL

Are we really better now that the O.J. Simpson trial is over? For over a year we've waited for this day, most of us presuming guilt. After more than nine months of media hype and pre-empted soap operas, we've heard the jury render a verdict of not guilty. Personally, I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. Can we let this go and get on with life?

I must confess my feelings of O.J.'s guilt. I was convinced, and still am, even in the wake of the jury's verdict that he committed the crimes. In my heart of hearts, I believe he is guilty and he got away with murder. But my conclusion isn't without different circumstances of that from the trial jury.

As the evidence was presented to me, I read and heard evidence that was screened and filtered by the news media. I listened to countless legal experts and color commentators interpret the evidence and tell me what it means and how it figures into the trial process. The jury experienced the evidence first-hand without additional bias.

I also admit there were times I had better things to do with my time than listen to this drivel. Several weeks went by when I failed to catch any information. When I did catch the trial coverage, it was hit and miss. The jury saw it all. Thankfully, I wasn't forced to be sequestered.

Having lived in Southern California for three years, I can tell you it is a different culture. The people and their values are radically divergent from Southeast Missouri. That statement isn't necessarily meant as a disparaging comment, simply a fact. The Simpson jury thinks differently than we do. They live in a different cultural setting and react from a different social location than we do. Obviously, we wouldn't likely arrive at the same conclusion, even if we were present for the whole trial.

My conclusion, though slanted and biased, still resides with O.J.'s guilt. I believe he committed murder and didn't leave enough evidence to connect himself with the crime. I believe certain law-enforcement officials were capable of strengthening, even fabricating, that connection artificially. In the end, it worked against the process of justice.

As for our legal system, we have to trust our system of trial by jury. It isn't perfect, but it is what we have until it changes. A person is still presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that proof must go beyond reasonable doubt. I can only believe the jury did its best job with the evidence that was presented, and that evidence wasn't enough to rend a guilty conviction. It happens every day in courts across the country.

As for justice, O.J. did spend more than a year in jail. His defense cost him a bundle of money. It isn't as if he is walking away scot-free. Convicted criminals of greater offenses serve less time. O.J. has paid a price.

In the end, we have to believe what Sir William Blackstone said: "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer." O.J. may be one of those 10. It's life. It happens.

As for me, I believe that everything works out according to God's perfect plan. Right now, few of us really receive what we truly deserve. When our judicial system appears to fail us, our only real option is to trust in God's perfect justice. God knows all the facts and responds without prejudice. In the end, we will be judged.

But while your are eager for God to deal with O.J. Simpson justly, let's not forget how God deals mercifully and graciously with us. Instead of condemning this trial circus and the outcome, better we look to ourselves and how quick we are to judge something we really aren't connected with. Forget O.J. He has had his day in court. Better we strengthen our relationships and give value to what is important to us. It is time to move on. There are more important and serious problems to solve in our community than arguing how he got away with murder or how a jury of certain people won't convict people of a specific race. Hopefully, this ordeal is over for all of us.

Grant Gillard is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson.