Fred Goldman Campaigns to Reform Judicial System

The father of murder victim Ronald Goldman campaigned Thursday for a criminal justice reform initiative that allows non-unanimous jury verdicts, toughens parole rules and ends conjugal visits.

“Something needs to be done about a system that is broken, badly broken,” Fred Goldman told reporters at the Burbank Airport Hilton, the second stop on a four-city California swing to announce the petition drive.

Ronald Lyle Goldman, 25, and O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, were slashed to death June 12, 1994. Simpson, who was charged with the killings, was acquitted by a jury on Oct. 3.

Goldman joined prosecutors and crime victims under the banner Citizens for a Safer California to kick off the Public Safety Protection Act of 1996 crusade. They made appearances in San Diego, Burbank, Fresno and Sacramento.

“When I learned of my son’s death, I never imagined I would be thrust into a system that I mistakenly thought was there for the purpose of justice and honesty,” Goldman said as his daughter, Kim, wiped away tears.

“Instead, I found that we were in a system that condoned dishonesty, unfairness, manipulation of the truth and, least of all, justice.”

More than 693,000 signatures are required within 150 days for the initiative to qualify for the November 1996 ballot, organizers said. The Goldman family was the first to sign the petition.

“Because of my son’s murder, millions of people have seen the nightmare of our criminal justice system,” Goldman said.

The 2,400-member California Attorneys for Criminal Justice condemned the proposal, saying it was illogical and hypocritical of prosecutors to suggest reforms based on the Simpson trial.

“The Simpson trial was in no way typical of how the criminal justice system operates on a daily basis. Most cases result in guilty pleas or convictions. If the system favors any party, it is the government, said Cristina Arguedas, president-elect of the defense attorneys group.