OJ Simpson dead: Groundbreaking 1990s murder trial followed LA's heated racial tensions
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O.J. Simpson, who broke into the public eye as a star NCAA running back at the University of Southern California and became a public pariah decades later when he was charged with fatally stabbing his ex-wife and her friend, has died at 76 years old.
Nicknamed "Juice" on the field, he won a Heisman Trophy, spent 11 seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, and found a few roles in Hollywood.
Then Simpson's name became forever tarnished after his 1994 arrest in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman – charges of which he would later be acquitted at trial.
Some analysts have argued the jury and even the judge were influenced by heightened racial tensions after the acquittal of a group of Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King in 1992. There were also reports of alleged "jury nullification" – in which the majority Black jury was accused of acquitting him based on racial motives.
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Even his arrest was a spectacle after he broke his promise to surrender to police and took off in the back seat of a friend's SUV.
The image of Simpson in a white Ford Bronco fleeing an army of police cruisers in Los Angeles became part of the national consciousness.
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Simpson and Brown split after seven years of marriage, following reports of a volatile relationship and spats of domestic violence.
June 12, 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are stabbed to death in the courtyard outside her home in LA's upscale Brentwood neighborhood.
June 13 – O.J. Simpson is questioned and released.
June 17 – The infamous "slow-speed" car chase. Simpson broke an agreement to turn himself in and fled his attorney's home with a friend, Allen "AC" Cowlings, leading police on a slow-speed pursuit that spanned 60 miles. Officers arrested him after he pulled into his own driveway.
Sept. 9 – With the trial approaching, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announces it would not be seeking the death penalty.
Jan. 24, 1995 – The trial begins with opening statements from Deputy District Attorneys Marcia Clark and Chris Darden.
Jan. 25 – Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, part of Simpson's acclaimed "Dream Team" of high-powered lawyers, delivers an opening statement for the defense.
Feb. 12 – Jurors are taken to the crime scene on a bus from the courthouse.
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May 15 – The gloves don't fit. Simpson tries on a pair of gloves in the courtroom.
Aug. 31 – The judge rules jurors can hear controversial recordings of a detective on the case, Mark Fuhrman, who was accused of using racist language. He declined to comment Thursday.
Sept. 26 to 28 – Lawyers on both sides deliver closing arguments. Cochran delivers the now-famous line, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
Oct. 3 – Jurors agree. In less than four hours of deliberations, they find Simpson not guilty on two counts of murder.
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The trial stretched on for months and became a global spectacle as one of the first televised start-to-finish legal proceedings to a national audience.
"We were fortunate to convince Judge [Lance] Ito to keep the cameras running in spite of the showboating, but we certainly paid a steep price," Royal Oakes, the media attorney who convinced the judge to allow TV news cameras in the courtroom. "For years after the Simpson trial, it was extremely difficult to get judges to give a green light to cameras."
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After his acquittal on the murder charges, Simpson faced a civil trial and was found liable for the deaths, costing him $33.5 million – most of which he hadn't paid.
His financial troubles later led to an armed robbery in Las Vegas, and he finally went to prison.
He was freed from prison in October 2017 and received early release from parole in November 2021.
He attempted a comeback on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting selfie videos about current events.
Simpson's children announced Thursday morning that their father died the prior evening.
He had been struggling with cancer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original article source: OJ Simpson dead: Groundbreaking 1990s murder trial followed LA's heated racial tensions
