died today of an apparent brain tumor.
johnny cochrane was sixty eight years old and not nearly respected as he should have been for his defense of oj simpson.
some claimed that it was the jury, or the bungling by the defense, but in this age of CourtTV rarely a trial goes by where any mistake on either side isnt revelaed, but even with so many cooks in the kitchen one can’t find much fault with Cochrane’s defense of the Juice. some say it was perfect.
so to give the best tribute i can, i give you something i posted here last summer
top ten reasons why oj is not guilty
number ten: the columbian necktie.
it was no secret that over the last 6-8 months of her life, Nicole Brown Simpson spent more time with friends like Faye Resnick and others who were involved in the typical LA nightlife scene.
Some of those “friends” included drug dealers and hookers. Those associations, OJ claims was what led to the final 911 calls. He says he faught with Nicole because he didn’t want those type of people around his children.
Most of the stab wounds on both nicole brown and ron goldman were in and around the neck.
“Ms. Simpson’s head then was pulled back, perhaps by her blond hair, as the attacker slashed her throat from left to right. The neck position at the point of the cut can be determined by the fact that no blood flowed into her windpipe.
“The cut was vicious. The knife sliced through both carotid arteries – which provide blood to the brain – nearly cut through one jugular vein and left the second jugular vein dangling by a thread.
The cut was clean.” (USA Today, 10/18/96)
This is very similar to what the defense brought up to being the trademark fatal stab wound that is found on some victims of drug-related crimes. Specifically those where the victim owed money to a drug dealer.
The idea of the Columbian Necktie or Columbian Necklace came up several times in the OJ trial.
Mark Furhman was asked by F. Lee Bailey if he had ever heard of the Columbian Necktie
Q: NO. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A COLOMBIAN NECKLACE?
A: NO.
Q: YOU ARE HEARING THAT WORD FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY?
A: NO. I KNOW WHAT A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE IS.
Q: COLOMBIAN NECKTIE. WHAT IS A COLOMBIAN NECKTIE, DETECTIVE FUHRMAN?
A: CUTTING SOMEBODY’S THROAT.
Q: DID YOU EVER HEAR IT CALLED A NECKLACE?
A: NO.
Q: THAT INCLUDES CUTTING THE THROAT SO SEVERELY THAT BOTH THE CAROTID ARTERIES ARE SEVERED, CORRECT?
A: I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT, BUT I JUST HEARD THE TERM.
Q: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY ARE SEVERED? DO YOU KNOW FROM YOUR TRAINING?
A: WELL, THE PERSON WILL BLEED PROFUSELY AND DIE.
Q: THE BLOOD PRESSURE DROPS TO ZERO AND DEATH OCCURS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY; ISN’T THAT SO?
A: I WOULD ASSUME SO.
Q: IF YOUR THROAT IS CUT THAT SEVERELY WHILE YOU ARE STANDING AND SOMEBODY IS HOLDING YOUR HEAD, YOU WOULD BE DEAD BEFORE YOU HIT THE GROUND, WOULDN’T YOU?
A: (NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE.)
Q: IF YOU KNOW?
A: I WOULD HAVE TO SPECULATE. I COULDN’T TELL YOU THAT, SIR.
read the rest here
the finest lawyer to ever put on a ski cap in court. died today of an apparent brain tumor. johnny cochrane was sixty eight years old and not nearly respected as he should have been for his defense of oj simpson