The Runner Stumbles

The article I read this afternoon suggested that O.J. Simpson was "getting no celebrity breaks" during his most recent brush with the law. Then again, maybe the break he's getting is just the attention that a celebrity such as "The Juice" might get anytime a felony is alleged. I suppose it depends largely on which side of the fence you line up for discussion of the criminal justice system. If you think that penalties are too harsh, or if you believe that people are getting away with murder (literally or figuratively) then the debate continues. Would the average perp be photographed, aside from a mug shot, as he walked to and from a holding cell? Probably not, but it isn't everyday that someone of Mister Simpson's stature graces the Clark County Detention Center. Actually, it would be my guess that a great many jails in southern California as well as Las Vegas have the distinction of catering to celebrities primarily due to the fact that there is a greater number of them per capita in those locales.
Does that mean that those cities should steel themselves to the odd burden of playing host to a certain number of high-profile crime stories? Should Lindsay, Paris, Mel, or any of the laundry list of pop idols who fought the law be treated differently than the average citizen? To me, it's a moot point. The genie is already out of the bottle. If we have already made a point of paying attention to an individual's actions, for good or ill, then we will probably continue doing so until they pass on to the next plane.
In some ways, Carl Douglas, who was co-counsel with Johnnie L. Cochran in Simpson's 1995 criminal trial, seems to agree with me. "O.J. has always been able to satisfy his obligations to the court. He cooperated with the authorities in this case. He is not a flight risk. And he certainly can't hide anywhere." Which makes this story all the more a case for head-scratching. According to one account, "The door burst open and they came in almost commando style, O.J. Simpson and some of his people, I guess you would call it, with guns drawn," sports collector Bruce Fromong told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday. "O.J. at that time was saying, 'I want my stuff. I want my stuff.' The thing in my mind as soon as I saw him, I'm thinking, 'O.J., how can you be this dumb? You're in enough trouble."'
Just what constitutes "enough trouble"? How about six felonies, including two counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon. As for being a flight risk, O.J. has already made low speed pursuits in a white Ford Bronco part of pop culture, add that to the footage we have of him running through airports, an you can see why they decided to lock him up.