The O. J. Simpson reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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O. J. Simpson

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Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), known by the initials O.J. and nicknamed The Juice, is a hall of fame former college and professional football player and film actor. Simpson is perhaps now most famous for being accused of the 1994 killing of his wife and his acquittal in criminal court in 1995 after a lengthy and highly publicized trial.

Table of contents
1 Football career
2 The death of his ex-wife and trial
3 Filmography
4 Reference
5 External links

Football career

His college football career at the
University of Southern California (USC) was dynamic and highly charged, earning him the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, the nickname "The Juice," and entry into the American Football League with the Buffalo Bills.

In 1973 Simpson ran for a then-record 2,003 yards, becoming the first player ever to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark, and was voted as the league's Most Valuable Player. Although 2,000 yard seasons have been surpassed since then, no other player ever accomplished the feat in only fourteen games, as Simpson did. His yards per game average was ten yards higher than that of the closest competitor. "The Juice" powered one of the league's top rushing offenses, and he ran behind the famed "Electric Company" offensive line. His 1973 performance earned him the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year.

Simpson went on to earn All-Pro honors five times and amassed 11,236 rushing yards during his career. Simpson retired from the NFL in 1979 and on January 23, 1985 became the first Heisman Trophy winner elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Bills' Wall of Fame.

See also: Other American Football League players

The death of his ex-wife and trial

On June 12, 1994 his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson (who divorced him in 1992 after an abusive relationship) and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead outside Brown's Brentwood area condominium in Los Angeles, California with the Simpson children sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. Evidence found and reportedly collected at the scene indicated that Simpson could be the killer. Faced with murder charges his lawyers convinced the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to allow Simpson to turn himself in at 11 AM on June 17 even though the double murder charge meant no bail and a possible death penalty verdict.

The low-speed chase

O.J. Simpson
Over a thousand reporters waited for Simpson to arrive into police custody and then give an 11:45 AM statement to the media after booking. When he failed to show, confusion set in and an all-points-bulletin was issued by the police at 2 PM.

At 6:45 PM a sheriff's patrol car saw Simpson's 1993 white Ford Bronco going north on Interstate 405. When the officer approached the Bronco, the driver, who was Simpson's friend, Al Cowlings, yelled that Simpson had a gun to his head. The officer then backed off and one of the most bizarre and slowest chases in history began.

For some time a KCBS news helicopter had exclusive coverage of the chase, but by the end of the chase they had been joined by about a dozen others as news agencies from around the country tried to charter every available helicopter in the city.

Numerous spectators and on-lookers packed overpasses in front of the procession; some of them had signs encouraging O.J. to flee and many more were caught up in a festival-like atmosphere. Cowlings eventually drove the Bronco back to Simpson's Brentwood home at 360 North Rockingham Avenue and arrived at 8 PM. Simpson, however, did not emerge from the vehicle for another 45 minutes - increasing fears of a suicide or a shoot-out with police. When he did surrender, police confiscated $8,000 USD in cash, family pictures, a fake goatee and mustache, a passport, and a loaded .357 Magnum by Smith and Wesson from Simpson.


The criminal trial



Simpson hired a team of expensive, high-profile lawyers, including Johnnie Cochran, who argued that Simpson was the victim of police fraud and sloppy internal procedures that contaminated the DNA evidence. Simpson's defense team (dubbed the "Dream Team" by reporters) had argued that LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman (who they painted as a racist) had planted evidence at the crime scene. In all, 150 witnesses gave testimony during the eight-month-long trial.

Fuhrman denied on the stand that he was a racist or had ever used the "N" word to describe colored people. The defence found tapes of Fuhrman using the word. Fuhrman was recalled but pleaded the 5th Amendment.

At one point during the trial on June 15, 1995, assistant prosecutor Christopher Darden asked Simpson to put on a leather glove that was found at the scene of the crime. The glove was too tight for Simpson to put on over his latex-gloved hand, which inspired Cochran to quip in his closing arguments, "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit." [1] The prosecutors tried to perform damage control by explaining that the blood-soaked glove shrunk when it dried.

The prosecutorial team was confident that they presented a solid case and fully expected a conviction. Polled African Americans across the nation were largely unconvinced or felt that he had committed the crime but to convict would be to give a green light to police misconduct. Most white Americans, in the same polls, thought the case against Simpson was solid. Racial tensions grew through the trial and officials feared a repeat of the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles if Simpson received a guilty verdict.

At 10 a.m. on October 3, 1995 after three hours of deliberation and in front of an estimated 100 million television viewers, a verdict of not guilty was announced. The verdict appeared to shock the prosecutorial team and likewise shocked many in white America. At the same time many African Americans around the country reacted in a what has been described as a cathartic celebration that underscored a very real racial divide. Several TV commentators concluded that this showed that anyone can beat a rap if they can hire the best lawyers money can buy. In follow up interviews of the jurors, several jurors expressed views that they believe Simpson probably committed the murder but the prosecution bungled the case.


The civil trial

On February 4, 1997 a civil jury in Santa Monica, California found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of Ronald Goldman, battery against Ronald Goldman, and battery against Nicole Brown. Simpson was ordered to pay $3333,500,000 in damages. However, California law protects pensions from being used to satisfy judgments, so Simpson was able to continue much of his lifestyle based on his NFL pension. Since this trial Simpson has been largely regarded as a pariah or persona non grata by many in the entertainment industry and elsewhere and has been unable to continue his acting or any other career. In 2000, O.J. and his children, custody of whom he had fought hard to regain, left California for Miami, Florida.



External links