Legendary private investigator Pat McKenna joins me today to discuss his work on the OJ Simpson trial. We begin by discussing Pat’s initial work on the case which took him to Chicago. Pat talks about his three weeks there interviewing numerous witnesses who saw OJ. Pat explains how like most people he assumed that the media was right and OJ was guilty. Yet as his investigation unfolded, interviewing people such as the staff at the hotel near the O’Hare airport, to people on the plane, Pat began to come to the realization that OJ was not the murder. Pat points out some of the key pieces of evidence he discovered there which point towards someone other than OJ being the killer. We discuss how OJ signed numerous autographs yet no one remembers him as having cut up and bloody hands. Pat also talks about the fact that OJ only left his hotel room after he was told of his ex-wifes murder, which casts doubt on the theory that he left to bury evidence. Pat also talks about Chicago PD’s assertion that the LAPD began screwing up evidence the moment they received it from Chicago. Next we move onto Mark Fuhrman, his racist past and the numerous problems with his timeline of events on the night in question. Pat explains his own investigation into Fuhrman’s background and lays out how Fuhrman planted the gloves. Pat also breaks down the impossibility of the prosecutions timeline of events that night.
In the second hour we take a look at one one the most overlooked but important witnesses in the case, Tom Lange, the last person to have seen Nicole Simpson alive. We explore both the original police report and Lange’s own personal notes on what he saw the night of June 12, 1994. Pat explains how Lange saw Nicole talking with two men a few minutes after 10pm who were driving a White Ford 350 truck. Pat talks about the credibility of Lange and why his story should be trusted, as well as why the LAPD and prosecution never followed up with him. We also point out some of the discrepancies between the police report and what Lange actually stated he saw that night. Later we talk a look at other eye and ear witnesses from that night and show how nearly all of them contradict the prosecutions own timeline. Pat also touches on the ways in which the prosecution went after these witnesses and trotted out the most untrustworthy individuals to prop up their increasingly flimsy case. Pat also breaks down the numerous issues with the infamous bloody socks. Pat and I also touch on the allegations that drugs played a part in the murder.
Pat will be joining me again very soon so let me know if you have any questions you would like us to discuss.
Today we kick-start our series of shows focusing on the 21st anniversary of the OJ trial by talking with frequent guest Stephen Singular. Stephen and I begin by discussing his experiences working on the trial. We then move on to the impact that this has had on society at large. We discuss the impact that the media has had on conditioning us to have a particular emotional response to the OJ Simpson trial and it’s outcome. Stephen explains his theories as to why so many Americans are willing to disregard the truth of the murder, even when the evidence is right there in front of them, for the security of believing that OJ is guilty. We explore the impact the case has had 21 years after the fact on the psyche of the American public and their views on racial discrimination by police. We explore how the media has conditioned us to only want the same tired old theories repeated to us over and over again. Stephen also discusses how we can begin to grow as a nation by understanding the reality of what went on on June 13th 1994. We place particular emphasis on how we as a nation respond to racial discrimination by law enforcement and the criminal justice system. As always Stephen emphasizes the importance of questioning the reality we are being fed, and striving to understand what the truth is.
In the final half hour I discuss some of my own feelings about the impact the case has had on America. I talk about the ways in which the murder and trial have normalized our views on police violence and law enforcement. I explain how the system has only gotten worse and more oppressive since the trial ended. I attempt to illustrate how the political reactions that we see, from the presidential candidates to Black Lives Matter, are all symptoms of the OJ Simpson case.
This is the first of several episodes exploring the impact of the case and possibilities for solving it. Let me know if you have any questions you would like answered in future episodes.
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