section_path: Legal history/Criminal trial for murder/Verdict and aftermath
section_name: Verdict and aftermath
paragraph_text: Verdict and aftermath
  
  The New York Times wrote that "in the end, it was the defense that had the overwhelming case, with many grounds for reasonable doubt, the standard for acquittal." The trial culminated after 11 months on October 3, 1995, when the jury rendered a verdict of "not guilty" for the two murders. Around 100 to 150 million people nationwide tuned in to watch or listen to the verdict announcement. The jury deliberation lasted three hours. By the end, the trial produced "126 witnesses, 1,105 items of evidence and 45,000 pages of transcripts." Simpson was released after 474 days in custody.
  
  Immediate reaction to the verdict was known for its division along racial lines: a poll of Los Angeles County residents showed that most African Americans there felt justice had been served by the verdict, while the majority of whites and Latinos opined that it had not. NBC News wrote that "Black residents in parts of Los Angeles spilled out onto the street, cheering and passing celebratory drinks", and that similar scenes happened across the country. In 1994, 22% of Black respondents to a poll believed Simpson was guilty, as opposed to 63% of white people. A 2016 poll showed that 57% of Black Americans and 83% of white Americans believed Simpson was guilty. This change was partially caused by the verdict of Simpson's later civil trial.
  
  At various points after the acquittal, the portion of a mural in Potrero Hill which featured Simpson in his 49ers uniform was vandalized by splashes of red paint and devil horns which were put on his head; he was eventually painted out of the mural.
  
  Following Simpson's acquittal, no additional arrests or convictions related to the murders were made. He maintained his innocence in subsequent media interviews. In May 2008, Simpson's associate Mike Gilbert claimed that Simpson had admitted his role as the murderer, saying he used the knife that Brown was holding when she opened her condo's door for him that night, and that he had stopped taking his arthritis medicine so his hands would swell in court. During the trial, Johnnie Cochran informed Judge Ito that Shawn Chapman contacted the Los Angeles County Jail doctor, who confirmed Simpson was taking his arthritis medication every day, and that the jail's medical records verified this. In a 2025 Netflix Docuseries titled "American Manhunt - O.J Simpson" directed by Floyd Russ, an interview segment with O.J Simpson's former sports agent Mike Gilbert revealed that Gilbert worked up the nerve to ask Simpson what really happened with Nicole, and told his client that he had always suspected he was guilty. According to Gilbert, Simpson responded: “If Nicole wouldn’t have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive.” (Gilbert also made this claim in his 2008 book, “How I Helped O.J. Get Away with Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse.”) Simpson's lawyer at the time Yale L. Galanter said none of Gilbert's claims were true and that Gilbert is "a delusional drug addict who needs money. He's fallen on very hard times. He is in trouble with the IRS." "I've talked to O.J. about it," said Galanter, who refused to allow Simpson to comment directly because of his robbery trial in Las Vegas. "This stuff not only didn't occur but it's not factually supported by the evidence."
  
  Comparisons were made years later between the Trayvon Martin case and the O.J. Simpson case, and how race impacted both. During an interview with Piers Morgan, when asked if there was a similarity in the racial aspects of the cases, Ron Goldman ’s sister Kim said all of the evidence pointed towards guilt in Simpson’s case, while she believed George Zimmerman ’s not guilty verdict was correct because it was a self defense case and that the killing of Trayvon Martin was not racially charged. Fred Goldman also denied racism played a factor in the killing of Trayvon or the outcome of the Simpson trial in an interview.
  
  The New York Times wrote that "in the end, it was the defense that had the overwhelming case, with many grounds for reasonable doubt, the standard for acquittal." The trial culminated after 11 months on October 3, 1995, when the jury rendered a verdict of "not guilty" for the two murders. Around 100 to 150 million people nationwide tuned in to watch or listen to the verdict announcement. The jury deliberation lasted three hours. By the end, the trial produced "126 witnesses, 1,105 items of evidence and 45,000 pages of transcripts." Simpson was released after 474 days in custody.
  
  Immediate reaction to the verdict was known for its division along racial lines: a poll of Los Angeles County residents showed that most African Americans there felt justice had been served by the verdict, while the majority of whites and Latinos opined that it had not. NBC News wrote that "Black residents in parts of Los Angeles spilled out onto the street, cheering and passing celebratory drinks", and that similar scenes happened across the country. In 1994, 22% of Black respondents to a poll believed Simpson was guilty, as opposed to 63% of white people. A 2016 poll showed that 57% of Black Americans and 83% of white Americans believed Simpson was guilty. This change was partially caused by the verdict of Simpson's later civil trial.
  
  At various points after the acquittal, the portion of a mural in Potrero Hill which featured Simpson in his 49ers uniform was vandalized by splashes of red paint and devil horns which were put on his head; he was eventually painted out of the mural.
  
  Following Simpson's acquittal, no additional arrests or convictions related to the murders were made. He maintained his innocence in subsequent media interviews. In May 2008, Simpson's associate Mike Gilbert claimed that Simpson had admitted his role as the murderer, saying he used the knife that Brown was holding when she opened her condo's door for him that night, and that he had stopped taking his arthritis medicine so his hands would swell in court. During the trial, Johnnie Cochran informed Judge Ito that Shawn Chapman contacted the Los Angeles County Jail doctor, who confirmed Simpson was taking his arthritis medication every day, and that the jail's medical records verified this. In a 2025 Netflix Docuseries titled "American Manhunt - O.J Simpson" directed by Floyd Russ, an interview segment with O.J Simpson's former sports agent Mike Gilbert revealed that Gilbert worked up the nerve to ask Simpson what really happened with Nicole, and told his client that he had always suspected he was guilty. According to Gilbert, Simpson responded: “If Nicole wouldn’t have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive.” (Gilbert also made this claim in his 2008 book, “How I Helped O.J. Get Away with Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse.”) Simpson's lawyer at the time Yale L. Galanter said none of Gilbert's claims were true and that Gilbert is "a delusional drug addict who needs money. He's fallen on very hard times. He is in trouble with the IRS." "I've talked to O.J. about it," said Galanter, who refused to allow Simpson to comment directly because of his robbery trial in Las Vegas. "This stuff not only didn't occur but it's not factually supported by the evidence."
  
  Comparisons were made years later between the Trayvon Martin case and the O.J. Simpson case, and how race impacted both. During an interview with Piers Morgan, when asked if there was a similarity in the racial aspects of the cases, Ron Goldman ’s sister Kim said all of the evidence pointed towards guilt in Simpson’s case, while she believed George Zimmerman ’s not guilty verdict was correct because it was a self defense case and that the killing of Trayvon Martin was not racially charged. Fred Goldman also denied racism played a factor in the killing of Trayvon or the outcome of the Simpson trial in an interview.