blinded by color society (4.13.2005)

There is something wrong with the judicial system. A jury acquitted Robert Blake of murder recently in the death of his wife four years ago, as well as a charge of trying to get someone to kill his wife. The vote was 11 to 1 in favor of acquittal for the former star of “Baretta”—a cop television show of the ‘70s. Now, is there something wrong with this? On the surface there is not. Mr. Blake—as all Americans—is entitled to the right of due process, but, where is the outrage? To state it clearly, where are all of the folks who to this very day feel that O. J. Simpson is guilty of murdering his former wife and her alleged lover?
The way folks acted before, I would have expected it to be all over the news, but it was not. I feel many white people are not outraged because the trial involved a white man and a white woman. If Blake was African American, I’m sure there would have been a more severe reaction. During the Blake trial, no eyewitnesses were presented or blood or DNA evidence to connect the actor to the crime; and the murder weapon could not be traced to Blake—although he had a small amount of gunshot residue on his hands. This was similar to findings that blood and skin under Nicole Simpson’s fingernails did not match either of the victims, or O. J. Simpson.
America is as divided as it was prior to and after the Civil War. It is a shame that such inconsistencies exist, but the truth of the matter is that such differences in beliefs will always be reflective of a society blinded by color.--torrance stephens