1995 : O.J.Simpson acquitted
At the end of a sensational trial, former football star O.J. Simpson
is acquitted of the brutal 1994 double murder of his estranged wife,
Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the epic
252-day trial, Simpson's "dream team" of lawyers employed creative and
controversial methods to convince jurors that Simpson's guilt had not
been proved "beyond a reasonable doubt," thus surmounting what the
prosecution called a "mountain of evidence" implicating him as the
murderer.
Orenthal James Simpson--a Heisman Trophy winner, star running back
with the Buffalo Bills, and popular television personality--married
Nicole Brown in 1985. He reportedly regularly abused his wife and in
1989 pleaded no contest to a charge of spousal battery. In 1992, she
left him and filed for divorce. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole
Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed and slashed to death in
the front yard of Mrs. Simpson's condominium in Brentwood, Los
Angeles. By June 17, police had gathered enough evidence to charge
O.J. Simpson with the murders.
Simpson had no alibi for the time frame of the murders. Some 40
minutes after the murders were committed, a limousine driver sent to
take Simpson to the airport saw a man in dark clothing hurrying up the
drive of his Rockingham estate. A few minutes later, Simpson spoke to
the driver though the gate phone and let him in. During the previous
25 minutes, the driver had repeatedly called the house and received no
answer.
A single leather glove found outside Simpson's home matched a glove
found at the crime scene. In preliminary DNA tests, blood found on the
glove was shown to have come from Simpson and the two victims. After
his arrest, further DNA tests would confirm this finding. Simpson had
a wound on his hand, and his blood was a DNA match to drops found at
the Brentwood crime scene. Nicole Brown Simpson's blood was discovered
on a pair of socks found at the Rockingham estate. Simpson had
recently purchased a "Stiletto" knife of the type the coroner believed
was used by the killer. Shoe prints in the blood at Brentwood matched
Simpson's shoe size and later were shown to match a type of shoe he
had owned. Neither the knife nor shoes were found by police.
On June 17, a warrant was put out for Simpson's arrest, but he refused
to surrender. Just before 7 p.m., police located him in a white Ford
Bronco being driven by his friend, former teammate Al Cowlings.
Cowlings refused to pull over and told police over his cellular phone
that Simpson was suicidal and had a gun to his head. Police agreed not
to stop the vehicle by force, and a low-speed chase ensued. Los
Angeles news helicopters learned of the event unfolding on their
freeways, and live television coverage began. As millions watched, the
Bronco was escorted across Los Angeles by a phalanx of police cars.
Just before 8 p.m., the dramatic journey ended when Cowlings pulled
into the Rockingham estate. After an hour of tense negotiation,
Simpson emerged from the vehicle and surrendered. In the vehicle was
found a travel bag containing, among other things, Simpson's passport,
a disguise kit consisting of a fake moustache and beard, and a
revolver. Three days later, Simpson appeared before a judge and
pleaded not guilty.
Simpson's subsequent criminal trial was a sensational media event of
unprecedented proportions. It was the longest trial ever held in
California, and courtroom television cameras captured the
carnival-like atmosphere of the proceedings. The prosecution's
mountain of evidence was systemically called into doubt by Simpson's
team of expensive attorneys, who made the dramatic case that their
client was framed by unscrupulous and racist police officers. Citing
the questionable character of detective Mark Fuhrman and alleged
blunders in the police investigation, defense lawyers painted Simpson
as yet another African American victim of the white judicial system.
The jurors' reasonable doubt grew when the defense spent weeks
attacking the damning DNA evidence, arguing in overly technical terms
that delays and other anomalies in the gathering of evidence called
the findings into question. Critics of the trial accused Judge Lance
Ito of losing control of his courtroom.
In polls, a majority of African Americans believed Simpson to be
innocent of the crime, while white America was confident of his guilt.
However, the jury--made up of nine African Americans, two whites, and
one Hispanic--was not so divided; they took just four hours of
deliberation to reach the verdict of not guilty on both murder
charges. On October 3, 1995, an estimated 140 million Americans
listened in on radio or watched on television as the verdict was
delivered.
In February 1997, Simpson was found liable for several charges related
to the murders in a civil trial and was forced to award $33.5 million
in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims' families.
However, with few assets remaining after his long and costly legal
battle, he has avoided paying the damages.
In September 2007, Simpson was again arrested on felony robbery
charges related to the theft of sports memorabilia in Las Vegas.
history.com/tdih.do
1932 : Iraq wins independence
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5395
1952 : Britain successfully tests A-bomb
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5396
1981 : Maze hunger strike called off
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5397
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At the end of a sensational trial, former football star O.J. Simpson
is acquitted of the brutal 1994 double murder of his estranged wife,
Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the epic
252-day trial, Simpson's "dream team" of lawyers employed creative and
controversial methods to convince jurors that Simpson's guilt had not
been proved "beyond a reasonable doubt," thus surmounting what the
prosecution called a "mountain of evidence" implicating him as the
murderer.
Orenthal James Simpson--a Heisman Trophy winner, star running back
with the Buffalo Bills, and popular television personality--married
Nicole Brown in 1985. He reportedly regularly abused his wife and in
1989 pleaded no contest to a charge of spousal battery. In 1992, she
left him and filed for divorce. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole
Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed and slashed to death in
the front yard of Mrs. Simpson's condominium in Brentwood, Los
Angeles. By June 17, police had gathered enough evidence to charge
O.J. Simpson with the murders.
Simpson had no alibi for the time frame of the murders. Some 40
minutes after the murders were committed, a limousine driver sent to
take Simpson to the airport saw a man in dark clothing hurrying up the
drive of his Rockingham estate. A few minutes later, Simpson spoke to
the driver though the gate phone and let him in. During the previous
25 minutes, the driver had repeatedly called the house and received no
answer.
A single leather glove found outside Simpson's home matched a glove
found at the crime scene. In preliminary DNA tests, blood found on the
glove was shown to have come from Simpson and the two victims. After
his arrest, further DNA tests would confirm this finding. Simpson had
a wound on his hand, and his blood was a DNA match to drops found at
the Brentwood crime scene. Nicole Brown Simpson's blood was discovered
on a pair of socks found at the Rockingham estate. Simpson had
recently purchased a "Stiletto" knife of the type the coroner believed
was used by the killer. Shoe prints in the blood at Brentwood matched
Simpson's shoe size and later were shown to match a type of shoe he
had owned. Neither the knife nor shoes were found by police.
On June 17, a warrant was put out for Simpson's arrest, but he refused
to surrender. Just before 7 p.m., police located him in a white Ford
Bronco being driven by his friend, former teammate Al Cowlings.
Cowlings refused to pull over and told police over his cellular phone
that Simpson was suicidal and had a gun to his head. Police agreed not
to stop the vehicle by force, and a low-speed chase ensued. Los
Angeles news helicopters learned of the event unfolding on their
freeways, and live television coverage began. As millions watched, the
Bronco was escorted across Los Angeles by a phalanx of police cars.
Just before 8 p.m., the dramatic journey ended when Cowlings pulled
into the Rockingham estate. After an hour of tense negotiation,
Simpson emerged from the vehicle and surrendered. In the vehicle was
found a travel bag containing, among other things, Simpson's passport,
a disguise kit consisting of a fake moustache and beard, and a
revolver. Three days later, Simpson appeared before a judge and
pleaded not guilty.
Simpson's subsequent criminal trial was a sensational media event of
unprecedented proportions. It was the longest trial ever held in
California, and courtroom television cameras captured the
carnival-like atmosphere of the proceedings. The prosecution's
mountain of evidence was systemically called into doubt by Simpson's
team of expensive attorneys, who made the dramatic case that their
client was framed by unscrupulous and racist police officers. Citing
the questionable character of detective Mark Fuhrman and alleged
blunders in the police investigation, defense lawyers painted Simpson
as yet another African American victim of the white judicial system.
The jurors' reasonable doubt grew when the defense spent weeks
attacking the damning DNA evidence, arguing in overly technical terms
that delays and other anomalies in the gathering of evidence called
the findings into question. Critics of the trial accused Judge Lance
Ito of losing control of his courtroom.
In polls, a majority of African Americans believed Simpson to be
innocent of the crime, while white America was confident of his guilt.
However, the jury--made up of nine African Americans, two whites, and
one Hispanic--was not so divided; they took just four hours of
deliberation to reach the verdict of not guilty on both murder
charges. On October 3, 1995, an estimated 140 million Americans
listened in on radio or watched on television as the verdict was
delivered.
In February 1997, Simpson was found liable for several charges related
to the murders in a civil trial and was forced to award $33.5 million
in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims' families.
However, with few assets remaining after his long and costly legal
battle, he has avoided paying the damages.
In September 2007, Simpson was again arrested on felony robbery
charges related to the theft of sports memorabilia in Las Vegas.
history.com/tdih.do
1932 : Iraq wins independence
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5395
1952 : Britain successfully tests A-bomb
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5396
1981 : Maze hunger strike called off
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5397
#########################################
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