Everyone Has An Opinion

(From For the Record, Friday, October 6, 1995:) Lewis Capaul, a Spokane postal worker quoted Wednesday in a story about reaction to the O.J. Simpson verdict, did not conclude that Simpson was guilty, as stated in the story. He feels the prosecution failed to prove its case.

Twelve hundred miles from Judge Ito’s courtroom, the Inland Northwest was filled with self-appointed jurors Tuesday.

Agree or disagree, whether they watched the yearlong trial or avoided it, nearly everyone had an opinion about the verdict that O.J. Simpson is not guilty of murder.

“I was outraged,” said Spokane paralegal Judy Otero. “I expected it, but I’m still outraged.”

“Guilty as all sin,” said Gonzaga University law student Jeri Lynn Simmons.

It was a day when skin color mattered. Poll after poll during the trial showed black Americans more likely than whites to consider Simpson innocent.

“When it comes down to it, the black people want to support their own,” said Trinity Gaston, who watched the verdict at Washington State University’s African American Student Center.

“I was cheering,” said Baraka Brown, another student at the center. “I thought he was innocent from the start, so to me it was a rightful verdict.”

People didn’t just judge Simpson’s guilt or innocence. They judged the lawyers. They judged the jury. They judged the judge. And they judged the media.

“You had the camera in the courtroom,” said the Rev. Lonnie Mitchell, pastor of the predominantly black congregation at Bethel A.M.E. Church. “Then you had commentators on TV. They were going on, talking about their opinions. I think that was wrong.”

Postal worker Lewis Capaul said he thinks O.J. is guilty but prosecutors and detectives didn’t prove it.

“Ever since the blood turned up missing, that was it for me,” Capaul said. “My wife and I have been arguing (over the case) ever since.”

Capaul said law enforcement should learn a lesson from this case and Ruby Ridge: “Just because the police say it’s true doesn’t mean a jury’s going to believe it.”

Joe Webster came to a different conclusion.

“If you’ve got money, you can do what you want,” he said sourly after finishing lunch downtown.

Before Webster could elaborate, his community service supervisor whisked him away for an afternoon of court-mandated work.

Larry and Barbara Brown caught the trial occasionally over the past year. But 2-1/2 hours after the verdict, they hadn’t heard the news.

“Totally not guilty? Of everything?” said an incredulous Larry Brown.

“That’s no big surprise,” grumbled Barbara. “It doesn’t say much for our justice system.”

At the North Division Sta-Fit, burly David Labrucherie finished his workout, then yelled a curse at an L.A cop whom many blame for blowing the prosecution’s case. Mark Fuhrman, who now lives in Sandpoint, wasn’t in the room to hear.

Accountant Judy Hudson said she doesn’t agree with the verdict, but sympathizes with the people who rendered it.

“I’ve been on a criminal jury,” she said. “What you decide will affect this guy for the rest of his life. You’re not going to come down with a guilty verdict unless you are hands-down certain.”

Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser refused to second-guess the verdict.

“The jury system is the best system in the world to determine if a person is guilty or not guilty,” he said.

At the same time, Sweetser worries about possible fallout. “I’d hate to see this verdict affect the credibility of law enforcement.”

Carolyn Morrison, director of the YWCA’s Alternatives to Domestic Violence Program, said she was disappointed by the verdict, but doesn’t think O.J. got off scot-free.

“He spent 1-1/2 years in jail, his career is ruined and his children will always wonder if he is the murderer of their mother,” she said.

Morrison said she hopes no one forgets that Simpson isn’t innocent, despite the verdict.

“He may not be a murderer, but he is a batterer,” she said.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Dan Hansen Staff writer Staff writers Tom Sowa, Mike Prager, Bonnie Harris, Kim Barker, Bill Miller and Eric Sorensen contributed to this report.