读者文摘:改变历史的意外时刻(3)（在线收听）

A DA’s slip about a glove flips the trial of the century.

地方检察官关于一只手套的口误颠覆了世纪审判。

It was bound to be a case for the ages even before the suspect parked his white Ford Bronco on that hot Los Angeles night in 1994.

甚至在1994年那个炎热的洛杉矶夜晚，嫌疑人把他的白色福特野马停在那里之前，这个案子就已经存在了很久。

OJ Simpson— football legend, rental car spokesperson, Naked Gun costar—was accused of killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson,

美式橄榄球传奇人物、汽车租赁代言人、白头神探参演者O·J·辛普森被控杀害妻子妮可·布朗·辛普森，

and a local waiter, Ron Goldman, on the steps of Nicole’s posh home in Brentwood, California.

还有一位当地的服务员罗恩·戈德曼，地点是在妮可位于加州布伦特伍德的豪华住宅的台阶上。

The evidence against OJ would appear to be damning, including blood in the Bronco and on a glove that matched one found near Goldman’s body.

对OJ不利的证据似乎是致命的，包括福特野马车里面的血和在戈德曼尸体附近发现的一只手套上的血。

“DNA evidence” became a household term with the OJ Simpson trial, and it was not his friend.

“DNA证据”在辛普森公诉案中成为一个家喻户晓的术语，而这对他并不友好。

Neither was a man named Kato Kaelin, who was living in OJ’s guesthouse

一个名叫卡托·凱林的人对他也不友好，住在OJ的客房的他出庭作证说，

and testified that he could not account for OJ’s whereabouts at the time of the murders.

他无法说明谋杀发生时OJ的下落。

OJ Simpson’s team had plenty of its own angles to work.

辛普森的团队有很多自己操作的角度。

The trial unfolded just a few years after the Los Angeles riots, and the racial polarization of the city was palpable.

这次审判发生在洛杉矶骚乱的几年之后，洛杉矶的种族分化是显而易见的。

In fact, the defense team took pains to label one of the LAPD officers investigating the case, Mark Fuhrman, as having a history of making racial statements.

实际上，辩护团队煞费苦心地给调查此案的一位洛杉矶警察局官员马克·福尔曼贴上了标签，因为他有发表种族言论的历史。

Still, many observers believed OJ would be convicted.

不过，很多的观察员都认为OJ会被定罪。

And then the prosecutor asked him to try on the bloody glove found at the crime scene.

然后，检察官让他戴上在犯罪现场发现的血手套。

The image of OJ Simpson attempting to squeeze his meaty hand into the snug leather fingers became a defining moment in the trial,

辛普森试图把他肥厚的手塞进舒适的皮革指套的画面成为了审判中的决定性时刻，

as did the way defense attorney Johnnie Cochran described it in his now-historic closing statement:

正如辩护律师约翰尼·科克伦在其历史性的结案陈词中所描述的那样：

“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” And the jury did.

“如果手套不合适，你必须宣告无罪。陪审团照做了。