OJ Simpson, the former American footballer and actor, died on Thursday (April 11) after a battle with cancer. The news was confirmed by his family. Even though the former National Football League (NFL) star came to be known as one of the finest athletes in the 1960s and 1970s, it is a double-murder case in which he was eventually acquitted, that kind of overshadowed his sporting achiement. The courtroom drama unfolded in the 1990s.
The case came to be known as the "trial of the century". It began with Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman found murdered outside her Los Angeles home in June 1994. Simpson emerged as the prime suspect in the murder case. Thereafter Simpson event made an attempt to evade law enforcement in a televisied car chase. He was subsequently arrested and there was a lot of spotlight on him and it consequently got a lot of attention.
Thrilling Climax To 'Trial Of The Century'
The murder trial commenced in January 1995. It was being looked upon as the prosecution's case vs the Simpson defence. The case had a racial undertone to it. Simson's legal team comprised of , Robert Blasier, Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz, Shawn Chapman Holley, Robert Kardashian, Robert Shapiro and F Lee Bailey. It was also beuing dubbed as the "dream team" and they managed to change to a certain extent how the public perceived the criminial justice.
The prosecution was adamant that it was Simpson who had killed the two victims, the defence had arguments of racial discrimination as well as misconduct by the police. However, in what was a thrilling climax to the courtroom drama, Simpson struggled to wear a pair of gloves which was believed to be worn by the murderer. As Simpson's hand did not fit into the gloves, his defence was more or less sealed.
"If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," Johnnie Cochran said the famous line in this context before eventually Simpson was acquitted.