interesting ( )

Fuhrman comes across as very believable. He shows how the police and prosecutors both made some horrendous mistakes in the case. ( )

It was amazing to hear an account of the OJ Simpson trial from Mark Fuhrman. Of course, the author is not unbiased and has an agenda in his book but it seemed to me that he did a good job of recounting the events of the murder (through evidence), the investigation, and the trial. I would be willing to read other books from key players in this infamous trial and I'm glad I took the time to hear Mark's story. ( )

"Mark Fuhrman? Oh, THAT Mark Fuhrman." Since Fuhrman's name became a byword for racism and corruption in the wake of the OJ Simpson murder trial, people might be forgiven for regarding this insider's account of the investigation and trial with a certain scepticism. However, I would urge anyone interested in the trial - and indeed in the state of modern justice - to read this book.

At one level it is a detailed list of charges against the LAPD, whose incompetent handling of the scene of the crime allowed evidence to be contaminated or destroyed (what happened to the bloody thumbprint clearly visible in a police photo?) and whose cringing respect for OJ led them to botch the crucial first interrogation. Fuhrman is clear and authoritative on police procedure, so much so that it's hard to see him as anything other than what he has always claimed he was - a hard-working professional who knew the rule-book backwards and played strictly by it.

Which brings us onto the second, and sadder, issue that this book raises. In order for OJ to be freed, his defence team had to trash the career and reputation of a hard-working detective. Nobody would argue that Fuhrman was an angel (his own narrative acknowledges he wasn't going to win "Peacemaker of the Year" awards in his department) but he wasn't a racist. The "racist" slur came about as the result of the defence team taking some of Mark Fuhrman's creative writing dictation out of context. (That's right: words given to a racist character became deliberately confused with Fuhrman's own beliefs.) Imagine that, and then imagine a legal case of yours foundering, not because of the facts, but because of your private life.

This is the deeper message of MURDER IN BRENTWOOD: modern justice isn't about the facts, it's about how much mud will stick to the scapegoated party. Even if you already think you know this, read this book and be chilled at how easily it happened to Fuhrman. How easily it could happen to you or me. ( )