OJ Simpson juror who raised fist as he left court was a former Black Panther who says he has no regrets about not guilty verdict and still believes football player is innocent

  • Lionel Cryer is the juror who gave OJ Simpson a black power fist as he left the courtroom after the verdict
  • He revealed two years ago that he still believes Simpson is innocent
  • Cryer, a former Black Panther, also winked and smiled at Simpson before the verdict was revealed in court 

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:29 EST, 6 April 2016 | Updated: 17:26 EST, 6 April 2016

In the final episode of American Crime Story: The People V OJ Simpson showed the moment when one juror gave Simpson a black power fist as he left the courtroom following the jury's verdict.

That moment did indeed happen too, though it was not caught by the cameras in the court because they could not reveal the identity of the jurors.

It is now known that it was Lionel Cryer who raised his fist, a former Black Panther who Marcia Clark decided to not have removed as a juror in the racially-driven case.

He was not on the initial jury, but one of the 10 backups who eventually found himself becoming a juror after the numerous dismissals over the course of the case. 

He was interviewed a few years ago about the trial and stood firm in his belief that there was reasonable doubt to believe that Simpson was not guilty, saying the prosecution put on a weak case.

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Lionel Cryer (actor above on FX series) is the juror who gave OJ Simpson a black power fist as he left the courtroom after the verdict

Lionel Cryer (actor above on FX series) is the juror who gave OJ Simpson a black power fist as he left the courtroom after the verdict

Cryer (above) revealed two years ago that he still believes Simpson is innocent

Cryer (above) revealed two years ago that he still believes Simpson is innocent

Cryer was more blunt speaking to The Washington Post immediately after the verdict saying; 'It was garbage in, garbage out.'

The New York Times also reported that Cryer even winked and smiled at Simpson before the verdict was read in court. 

He was a 44-year-old telephone company marketing representative was believed that the scene could have been contaminated, thus compromising much of the prosecution's evidence and therefore case. 

Cryer was asked during an interview with Piers Morgan almost two decades later if her believed race played a role in the outcome of the trial, or the trial they were also discussing that day, that of George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, a white Hispanic man, was found not guilty of murder by a largely white jury. 

Cryer, a former Black Panther, also winked and smiled at Simpson (above) before the verdict was revealed in court

Cryer, a former Black Panther, also winked and smiled at Simpson (above) before the verdict was revealed in court

'In a general sense I wouldn't know for sue because you don't know what goes into peoples' mindsets in juries,' said Cryer.

'In regard to my experience, the fact of the matter is with me in the OJ Simpson case, I actually voted my conviction. 

'Based on the evidence presented to me in that case in trail - and i thought that the prosecution in that case did put on a very weak case - I had no alternative but to rule for reasonalbe doubt. 

'Which is all i gave him. A reasonable doubt.'

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