Crimes of the Century - No. 17 - The O.J. Simpson Case

THE O.J. SIMPSON CASE, 1994

 

So ingrained are the details of the saga in living memory that it is, perhaps, pointless to summarize them. The impression is of a hydra-headed debauch: it was a classic Hollywood celebrity legal melodrama; a race-relations story; a marriage-gone-acrid; a foray into detective work and into genetics; a primer on the jury system; proof of the overwhelming profits to be made from tabloid TV; a domestic tragedy with feuding families; a comedy of errors with irritating consequences. If the Crime of the Century has to be a congeries of issues and emotions, then this is the contemporary champion. Indeed, it was done twice because much of the public needed an alternative ending: the first jury acquitting; the second jury finding civil wrong. And the saga is relived again and again whenever Simpson decides it is time to get more attention (as he did at the end of 2006 with a proposed but unpublished book that speculated on what he might have done if he were indeed the murderer). The only tragic thing is that no one has seen prison for the horrendous murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman on the night of June 12, 1994.

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I remember watching everything unfold as I sat at home glued to my television set.  Like everyone else at the time, I wanted to know what would happen to the pro-football player, turned actor, turned sportscaster, who I assumed was the killer.  And still do.  Simpson eventually got arrested, but not for this; He got arrested for stealing items that once belonged to him.  Unfortunately for him, he went about it the wrong way - he did it Mafioso style. LOL.  For those who were not born at the time, or want to read about this dramatic story, go here.

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TIME Magazine posted this article online several years ago, along with a list of 24 additional notorious crimes that I have been posting and will continue to post every Saturday on my blog.  Hope you enjoy.

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To read the previous 16 crimes - click my logo below.