Mark Fuhrman was one of the detectives who investigated the Brown-Goldman murders of which O. J. Simpson was suspected of committing.  Detective Fuhrman was also known for his racist views.  Detective Fuhrman was suspected of compromising the investigation by allegedly planting incriminating evidence at the Simpson residence.  The Justice Department decided not to charge Detective Fuhrman for the alleged assault and mistreatment of minorities.  The statute of limitations, which is five years, had run out.  During the Simpson trial it seemed that the main emphasis was placed on Furman’s racism rather than Simpson’s guilt or innocence.  This, in my opinion, destroyed the credibility of Fuhrman’s testimony and led jurors to suspect that Fuhrman was capable of performing the act of planting evidence to help sway the verdict of this case..  Fuhrman also perjured himself on the witness stand because he later admitted lying when asked about his involvement in misconduct concerning the mistreatment and verbal abuse of blacks. (Ostrow, 1998).  Fuhrman, during an interview that was audio taped, uttered the “N” word repeatedly.  In fact the manner in which he spoke the word makes it believable that he is in a habit of using that word frequently. (Daly, August 20, 1995)

            One of the white jurors in the Simpson murder trial commented to one of her family members that she thought Simpson was guilty, but due to Fuhrman’s racism, which destroyed his credibility as a witness, she voted not guilty.  The verdict of this case literally divided the nation.  According to some media coverage after the trial; as a majority, black people were elated about the verdict and white people objected to it. (Clark, 1995).

            In a tape recorded interview, Fuhrman referred to black people using the “N” word 41 times, however, jurors were instructed to ignore all but two of those comments.  Simpson’s attorneys were outraged at this decision of Judge Ito’s.  Fuhrman testified under oath that he had not used that word for the past ten years.  I believe this added more fuel to the racist “fire”.  I also believe that this is the reason that Judge Ito chose to disallow most of the comments; to avoid adding more fuel to a fire that was already burning very brightly. (Ito's Ruling On Fuhrman Tapes Called 'Outrageous' By Simpson Defense, 1995).

            The O. J. Simpson murder trial contained numerous twists and turns.  It seemed that Detective Fuhrman was in some way involved in each of them.  The trial has been referred to by some as a soap opera.  For one reason, the Fuhrman tapes, as they became to be known, allegedly proved that Detective Fuhrman was a racist and was involved in numerous activities which could be classified as racial slurs and even assaults on blacks.  The defendant being black and both murder victims being white could present quite a problem.  Another point is if the judge allowed the tapes as evidence, the prosecution stated they would call Captain York as a witness in the case.  Captain York was once Detective Fuhrman’s commander.  This would not have presented a problem in itself but, Captain York also happened to be Judge Ito’s wife.  Judge Ito was the presiding judge over the O. J. Simpson murder trial.  In other words, if Judge Ito allowed the Fuhrman tapes as evidence; due to personal knowledge of facts being discussed in the case, he would be forced to step down and more than likely, this action would result in a mistrial. (McCarthy, 17 August 1995)

            I do not believe that Detective Fuhrman acted professionally nor did he act responsibly.  The fact that he pleaded the Fifth Amendment when questioned about planting evidence, which could be used against Simpson, practically points to the fact that he was guilty of the action.   (Bowman, 2012).

References

Bowman, D. (2012, May 26). Circumstances Surrounding the Brown/Goldman Murders. (D. Bowman, Ed.)

 Retrieved May 28, 2012, from Law Enforcement and Forensics

: http://usmc3120.blogspot.com/refresh?widgetID=BlogArchive1

Clark, P. (1995). O. J. divides black and white America. Race the key in trial and aftermath. The Age (Late

 Edition), 1.

Daly, M. (August 20, 1995). Let's see Tyson vs. Fuhrman. Daily News , 8.

Ito's Ruling On Fuhrman Tapes Called 'Outrageous' By Simpson Defense. (1995, Sept 16). Jet , p. 4.

Lushbaugh, C. A. (2012). Criminal Investigation: Basic Perspectives, Twelfth Edition. Upper Saddle River,

                NJ: Pearson Education.

McCarthy, P. (17 August 1995). O. J.'s latest trial twist-there goes the judge. Sydney Morning Hearald

                (Austrailia) Late Edition , 12.

Ostrow, R. J. (1998, Arp 04). U. S. decides to not prosecute ex-detective mark fuhrman . South Florida

                Sun, Sentinel , 3-A.