Today, the news of O.J. Simpson's death from cancer is making headlines around the world. His death has revived memories of the "trial of the century" in 1995. At the time, Simpson had many "identities" — celebrities, riches, blacks accused of killing his ex-wife out of jealousy, and defendants with a "dream team" of expensive defense lawyers.
Before the "wife murder" in 1994, O.J. Simpson is America's most famous football star and actor. In the 1970s, he became an excellent running guard at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Award for best player in college football. He was inducted into the NFL after a record-breaking career with the Buffalo Beale and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
But everything changed, and on June 12, 1994, ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and another young man, Ronald Goldman, were found tragically dead in their home, showing a large number of fatal stab wounds to their necks, especially ex-wife, whose cuts were deep to the bone, as if the killer had taken revenge on them.
More than 30 blood stains were found in Simpson's home, as well as in his car. As witnesses stated that Simpson was still controlling and monitoring his ex-wife, the motive was determined to be a murder motivated by jealous passion.
From the arrest to the court to public opinion, the entire process of the case is comparable to a blockbuster movie. O.J. Simpson climbed out of his bedroom window while waiting for a doctor to examine his wounds, and then a car chase unfolded at the Los Angeles Highway — a white Ford racing ahead, more than a dozen police cars whizzing on the ground, and several helicopters in the sky. O.J. Simpson in the car also threatened to commit suicide, and the movement was very loud.
And the case itself is also very obsessed with suspense detective lovers and gossip people. First of all, O.J. Simpson was successfully "rescued" by a team of lawyers hired by tens of millions of people under the premise of obvious motives and physical evidence, and became a representative case in the history of American justice that questioned his impartiality.
In court, prosecutors produced a large amount of blood, hair and fiber test evidence and found Simpson the killer. The defense countered that the defendant was framed by a white racist police officer.
The whole case took a turn for the worse when prosecutors asked Simpson to try on a pair of bloody gloves found at the murder scene. He had confidently thought that the gloves would fit Simpson perfectly, proving that he was the murderer, but the truth was that the gloves and Simpson's hands did not match at all.
Subsequently, the lawyer told the jury: "If it is not suitable, it is not guilty". Thus, on October 3, 1995, a jury, predominantly black, of 10 women and two men acquitted Simpson.
Prosecution lawyers later called prosecutors' request for Simpson to try on gloves "the biggest legal blunder of the 20th century." Peter Arenella, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the New York Times after the ruling: "What this ruling tells you is that celebrity and money can buy the best defense and can turn a case with overwhelming incriminating evidence into one full of reasonable doubt."
"A predominantly African-American jury is more likely to believe in police incompetence and corruption, and is more willing to set a higher standard of proof for evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. ”
At that time, O.J. Simpson's black identity provoked racial contradictions and public opinion storms. The trial has the United States going crazy. President Clinton in the White House even suspended his work and watched the verdict on the secretary's television. Many blacks celebrated his acquittal, seeing Simpson as a victim of being subjected to racist cops. And many whites were outraged by his innocence.
However, this "trial of the century" was not the whole story, and the victim's family subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson in civil court. In 1997, a predominantly white jury in California found Simpson responsible for two deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in restitution.
This time, however, the "Dream Team" did not appear on his behalf, as the burden of proof is lower in a civil trial than in a criminal trial — to prove "the degree of support of the evidence" rather than "evidence beyond reasonable doubt." New evidence is also stacked against Simpson, including photos of him wearing shoes that left blood stains on the murder scene.
In the aftermath of the civil case, some of Simpson's property, including memorabilia from his rugby days, was taken and auctioned off to help pay the damages he owed.
On October 3, 2008, just 13 years after Simpson's acquittal, he was convicted by a Las Vegas jury of kidnapping and armed robbery, among other charges. It started in 2007 when he was armed with guns at a casino hotel and five other men and stole thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia from two dealers.
Simpson said he was only trying to get his property back but was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.
In 2017, he was released on parole and moved into a gated community in Las Vegas. In 2021, he was released from parole early due to his good behavior.
Later, Simpson's "legendary" life was featured in the Oscar-winning 2016 documentary O.J.: Made in America, as well as various TV series.
However, the question of how his ex-wife Nichole and her friends died at home is still unsolved. The death of O.J. Simpson has taken this secret to the grave, and future generations will never know the truth.