O.J. Simpson’s attorney, Johnnie Cochran, coined a phrase during his murder trial which would live in infamy: “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
The glove, as the jury came to believe, didn’t fit, and Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Now, former L.A. District Attorney Chris Darden says that the glove Simpson tried on in the courtroom in front of millions was more than likely tampered with, and he wants an investigation to be formed.
“I think Johnnie tore the lining. There were some additional tears in the lining so that O.J.’s fingers couldn’t go all the way up into the glove,” Christopher Darden said. “A bailiff told me the defense had it during the lunch hour. It’s been my suspicion for a long time that the lining has been manipulated.”
The problem is that Cochran can’t defend himself against the claims; he has been dead since 2005.
“As members of the defense team, Carl Douglas and I were present in court on the day that Chris Darden asked O.J. Simpson to try on the glove,” attorney Shawn Holley said in a statement. “Mr. Darden’s self-serving assertion that Johnnie Cochran tampered with the glove–or any piece of evidence–is false, malicious and slanderous. Almost 20 years later, it seems Mr. Darden is still trying to exculpate himself from one of the biggest blunders in the history of jurisprudence.”
Despite testimony from an expert who said that leather can and does shrink up when exposed to moisture–they were soaked in the victims’ blood–jurors cited the fact that Simpson had visible difficulty pulling the gloves on as the main reason for their decision. Because they were a key piece of evidence during the trial, it’s not known whether an investigation will be started up or to what end.
Image credit: L.A. Times