'If It Doesn't Fit, You Must Acquit': Everything About the Infamous Glove in O.J. Simpson's Trial

The gloves that did not fit Simpson's hands during his 1994 murder trial has remained a fixture of the case for decades

One of the most infamous aspects of O.J. Simpson's murder trial for the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman came in an unlikely form: a pair of gloves.

In the years since Simpson was acquitted of the murders, the black leather gloves, which were alleged to have been worn by the killer during the murders and ultimately did not fit Simpson's hands during the trial, proved to be crucial to his acquittal and has remained a permanent fixture in the history of the case.

In the wake of Simpson's death at 76 on April 10 from cancer, the gloves remain at the forefront of the minds of those still looking to make sense of the crime.

The gloves were a key piece of evidence in Simpson's trial

Each of the gloves was found in a separate location, per CNN. The left-handed glove was recovered outside of Brown's home, while the right-handed glove was found at Simpson's estate.

When LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman found the blood-stained right-hand glove at Simpson's home, per the Washington Post, it was sufficient evidence to issue an arrest warrant.

Beyond just blood, per the Los Angeles Times, hair and clothing fibers that were consistent with Simpson, Brown and Goldman, along with fibers from a 1993–1994 Ford Bronco and Brown's Akita dog, were all found on the glove recovered from Simpson's home.

However, when Simpson tried the gloves on in court, he struggled to get them onto his hands. This led to the defense claiming that if the former NFL star could not fit in the gloves, he couldn't have committed the murder.

Related: Everything O.J. Simpson Said About the Murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman

The famous "If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit" quote was created by Simpson's defense attorney Johnnie Cochran

One of the issues that prosecutors had surrounding the glove not fitting Simpson's hand was their knowledge that he had arthritis and was on anti-inflammatory medications, per another report from the Los Angeles Times. They were concerned that Simpson had intentionally foregone taking the medication to make his hands swell up and be unable to fit in the gloves.

However, that was disproven when the Los Angeles County Jail doctor confirmed to attorneys that Simpson had taken his medication every day, on record. The dismissal of this claim led Simpson's defense attorney Johnnie Cochran to quip, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," which became the most famous statement to emerge from the trial.

Related: O.J. Simpson Said He 'Had Dreams of Killing' Slain Wife Nicole Brown Simpson, Friend Claims

There are theories that the glove did not fit due to dried blood

Another concern that prosecutors raised, per CNN, was that once drenched in blood and having sat outside freezing and thawing, the gloves had shrunk, which resulted in them not fitting Simpson's hand.

Prosecutor Chris Darden called upon glove expert Richard Rubin during the trial, who testified, "If you drench the glove and let it dry naturally, you’ll lose 15% of the size," per the New York Daily News. When Darden suggested blood caused the shrinkage, Rubin retorted that he could not confirm what liquid had been on the gloves that resulted in them becoming smaller.

Cochran responded to the prosecutor's claims by stating that their theory about blood causing the gloves to shrink was a response to their inability to prove the gloves fit Simpson's hand under regular circumstances.

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