From the beginning of the 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial, lack of a murder weapon was a major issue in the case. Simpson always denied any role in the death of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. After an exhaustive search, police and prosecutors were never able to present the jury in his trial with a knife that they claimed he used.
Today the Los Angeles Police Department, (LAPD) has reported that a folding knife found buried on the property of O.J. Simpson’s former Los Angeles estate years ago is currently being analyzed by the department.
Law enforcement sources say a construction worker found a knife buried at O.J.’s former estate, turning it over to an off duty officer working security for a movie shoot across the street and kept it for years. The report says he was planning on framing it.
The rusted and stained knife is being tested for fingerprints and hair, and will be tested for DNA in the next week, according to reports the investigation surrounding the knife is top secret, saying, “It’s been logged into the LAPD’s computer system outside the official case file to maintain security.”
Because Simpson was found not guilty, he cannot be re-tried because of the newly discovered evidence. The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: “[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” The protections under this clause include prohibitions against retrial after acquittal, conviction, after mistrials on specific grounds, and more than one punishment.
Our constitution and criminal justice system were designed to protect the innocent (many disagree with this idea) from an overly aggressive government. Double jeopardy stops the government from trying the same person over and over again for the same offense. Not surprisingly then, certain statutes such as Title 28 U.S.C. section 2255 permit in very narrow circumstances a convicted person to have their case reopened based on newly discovered evidence.
LAPD however, will still investigate it because they still consider the Simpson/Goldman murders an open case.
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