One of O.J. Simpson’s prosecutors allege defense lawyer tampering with the famous glove.
The O.J. Simpson prosecutors at the center of the Los Angeles murder trial has alleged that the lead defense lawyer tampered with a crucial piece of evidence, which may have changed the outcome of the case to the jury.
Former Los Angeles deputy district attorney Christopher Darden on Thursday accused defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran of “manipulating” one of the infamous gloves that the prosecution said linked Simpson to the grisly double murder of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
After Simpson struggled to fit the gloves on his hands – in one of the defining moments of the racially charged trial that captivated the nation – Cochran famously admonished the jury, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
O.J. Simpson Glove Theory: Was Glove Torn?
On Thursday, during a panel discussion about the trial at Pace Law School in New York City, Darden, a member of the prosecution team, declared: “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.”
Darden said in a follow-up interview on Friday that he noticed that when Simpson was trying on a glove for the jury its structure appeared to have changed. “A bailiff told me the defense had it during the lunch hour.” He said he wasn’t specifically accusing anyone, adding: “It’s been my suspicion for a long time that the lining has been manipulated.”
He said he had previously voiced similar concerns in TV interviews, but could not recall the details.