By "psychological warfare" I meant that most everyone has been raised on the maxim that "One is innocent until proven guilty" and that we should not jump to conclusions without evidence of wrongdoing. Generally we as individuals do not want to sit in judgment of others (at least in an official capacity, such as juror)and are predisposed not to want to convict someone.
Now juries are, for the most part, normal people who understand that the Government must prove all elements of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt. However, jurors also do not want criminals let out of court to commit further crimes. Whenever the prosecution does something that allows the jury to pass its "guilt" of letting a guilty person off, it may very well do so, feeling comfortable that "the government did not prove its case". The prosecution could have had poor evidence or may have done something that the juries felt was "unfair", etc.
OJ's case falls into this category what with the "N" word controversy, the poorly handled evidence, the non-fitting glove, etc. There were many things done in the case that allowed the jury to pass the "guilt" they felt as individuals for letting someone they may have felt in their hearts was guilty of murder on to the prosecution because of the way the case was presented. In "Outrage" by Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor of Charlie Manson, he argues that a conviction could have been reached (even with the jury that was picked) had the prosecution put on even a "C" performance. He grades the prosecution as "F" IIRC.
My guess is that the people on the jury sleep well at night. They have comfortably "passed" any responsibility they may have otherwise felt for letting a killer go, by placing the "blame", if any, on the government.
Tapping into your expertise, I have some questions:
Did this jury work overtime to get him off? I recall a young lady who was, I believe harassed off of the jury. Overall, I felt that the jury had an agenda beyond justice.
In the "glove didn't fit" farce, why didn't the prosecutors explain the shrinkage, the plastic liner which OJ insisted on and the way in which OJ contorted his hand? All were so obvious!!
Thank you for the information. I understand now about the "sleeping at night" aspect of juries passing the responsibility.