W. B. Park: Guilty?

Every one, even the squirrel in the park, had an opinion, but the subject of this cartoon, obvious in 1995, may not be so self-evident today:

"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90

The context for this ephemeral cartoon art by W. B. Park must have been plain to all The New Yorker's readers in the summer of 1995. The news back then was dominated by coverage of the ongoing O. J. Simpson double murder trial.

Detail, left

Detail, right, with W. B. Park's signature

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended August 1, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196479739741?_skw=signed+Yorker&itmmeta=01JA75GRHYYHQJZ2ZF2TX1WZAS&hash=item2dbf1ae75d:g:FLMAAOSw9UdmhJKo&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnpMCBsDXTQL8k0Spk8noPzotlCv4bNcxOaLkWjPiB5UxfX4nUDXEF644LNBBcu8fcS

mroFilt4PYU0hbTV53oazyZXdFeu8eY2znKbJIks%2FwTFRu8DzUnlrPXGeMWbjtKoay%2FmpFBDqJqvnr7%2BiDA4v7DeYTAxrfVLb8d7Ri8WTRJXxEuxHxSMCWb9YqA5CydKSX%2BB7zzac%2F%2B5p4Ozn3kRGROid0DRYPSXxtB8pZiu%2F36%2FgcDpOMUuuQ2xK2dbscE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4iJw-XRZA

W. B. Park
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90

"Is he guilty? Hell, yes, he's guilty. Now can we talk about something else?"
W. B. Park
Original art
The New Yorker, August 21 & 28, 1995, p. 90

With a drawing by W. B. Park and a poem by Emily Hiestand

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1995-08-21/flipbook/090/

Note:  The jury subsequently acquitted O. J. Simpson of his murder charges. Opinions on the verdict were divided along racial lines. The squirrel was dumbfounded.

04834