‘The People v. O.J. Simpson,’ Episode 8: Our Fact-Checking Recap
In earlier chapters of American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, we got a sense of who would sit on the jury — or, more accurately, what kind of jury each side wanted. The pool of 24 potential candidates (12 jurors and 12 alternates) skewed heavily to the “downtown” (read: black) crowd that the defense had hoped for. Fifteen were African Americans, six were white, and three were Hispanic — as journalist Jeffrey Toobin wrote, “in a county that is just 11 percent black.” But no matter what their focus groups and gut feelings had told them about who to pick, they had no control over who would sit in judgment regarding the Juice.
Finally, in tonight’s episode, we get to meet the jurors on the O.J. Simpson case, and we see them as the all-too-human individuals they are — just average citizens suddenly tasked with making a monumentally important decision. And we also get to see how the racial divisions that were coming to a boiling point in the city were being played out on a small scale in the halls of the InterContinental hotel in downtown L.A. Here are five details from Episode 8, fact-checked and rated on our patented one-to-five “Gloves” scale.
The jury was constantly monitored for the 266 grueling days they were sequestered
“This is like some kind of experimental torture or something,” cries one juror. “It’s been 8 months,” says another. “Locked up in a hotel, with no TV and no magazines!” (Though at day 124, it would have only been about four months.) The list of complaints includes only seeing spouses once a week, no drinking, no talking to anyone outside the jury — they couldn’t even discuss the case with their fellow jurors. All these were true: televisions and phones in their hotel rooms had been disabled; no alcohol was allowed; and they were only allowed five hours of unsupervised time with their significant other one day a week, from 7 pm until midnight. Even the court’s attempts at making the experience more bearable often backfired, like a boat trip to Catalina Island, where many of the jurors became seasick on the way home. Or their excursion to a Lakers’ game, where a spectator shouted “O.J.’s guilty!” (4/5 Gloves)
Multiple people had lied on their questionnaires in order to get on the jury — and were later getting kicked off left and right
The jury questionnaire had been intense: 80 pages totaling 294 questions, from “Have you ever asked a celebrity for an autograph?” to “What do you think is the main cause of domestic violence?” It turns out that some jurors had glossed over their past — neglecting to disclose things like the kidnapping of an ex-girlfriend or being the victim of abuse — in order to be part of the case of the century. Some jurors had unknowingly entered incorrect information, like a woman who shared an arthritis doctor with O.J., a physician who was supposed to take the stand. Some made mistakes after selection, like the middle-aged man who was found taking notes for a post-trial book. The show addresses (somewhat) how, as each juror was excused, they helped change the media’s narrative of the trial — from writing their own tell-alls to offering insights to journalists. By the time the trial came to a close, there were only two alternates left. (4/5 Gloves)