Visceral Reactions to O.J. Simpson’s Death Are Promulgated

News of O.J. Simpson’s death has sparked visceral reactions from family members and friends of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson. Others who were involved in the football star’s life have also weighed in.

The Slayings of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson

OJ Simpson dead: Timeline of 1994 slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson, Ron Goldman https://t.co/KvEotfGLHq

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 11, 2024

In 1994, Goldman and Brown-Simpson were stabbed to death outside of her condominium in Brentwood. Simpson was immediately suspected in connection with the slayings.

Per CBS News:

“Evidence found at the scene seemed overwhelmingly against Simpson. Blood drops, bloody footprints[,] and a glove were there. Another glove, smeared with blood, was found at his home….

“On the night of the murders, Simpson flew overnight to Chicago to play in a golf tournament and checked into a hotel near O’Hare airport. While at the hotel, he claimed that he had cut his hand on a broken glass.

“When he was back in LA, authorities said he reneged on a promise to surrender, and live TV coverage of his arrest after a famous slow-speed chase marked a stunning fall from grace for the sports hero.”

Simpson surrendered to law enforcement after the slow-speed chase.

The stage was then set for one of the longest and most dramatic jury trials in the history of American jurisprudence.

The Trial of the Century

The trial commenced in January 1995, approximately six months after the slayings.

The Associated Press summarizes:

“[Simpson’s] trial captured America’s attention on live TV. The case sparked debates on race, gender, domestic abuse, celebrity justice and police misconduct.

“Evidence found at the scene seemed overwhelmingly against Simpson. Blood drops, bloody footprints and a glove were there. Another glove, smeared with blood, was found at his home.

“Simpson didn’t testify, but the prosecution asked him to try on the gloves in court. He struggled to squeeze them onto his hands and spoke his only three words of the trial: ‘They’re too small.’

“His attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. told the jurors, ‘If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.'”

For me, today’s death of OJ Simpson brought back the chaos of covering his criminal trial for the murders of his wife, Nicole brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Hard to believe it’s been 29 years. I was there in LA for about a month, and each day brought unexpected twists and… pic.twitter.com/Iilspl3jD1

— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) April 11, 2024

The jury found Simpson not guilty.

ABC News aptly observes that the trial of the century involved a “fascinating cast of characters.” Here are some of them:

Kim Goldman

Ron Goldman’s sister, Kim, who was 22 at the time of the trial, famously sobbed when the jury verdict was announced. She went on to become a best-selling author and public speaker.

Fred Goldman

Ron’s father, Fred, “relentlessly pursued Simpson through civil courts, maintaining it [was] the only way to achieve justice for his son.”

Thoughts and love to the hugely brave @KimEGoldman and Fred Goldman, whose beloved Ron was murdered alongside Nicole Brown Simpson. It was an incredible honour to spend the day with Kim and Fred when Ron’s killer was granted parole https://t.co/YvuQ73izH8

— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) April 11, 2024

Denise Brown

Deniese is Nicole Brown-Simpson’s sister. She was “the family’s most outspoken critic of Simpson.” She became become a victims’ rights advocate.

Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.

Simpson’s lead attorney in the trial died of brain cancer in 2005 at the age of 68.

Robert Kardashian

Robert Kardashian was an attorney and long-time friend of Simpson’s. He died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at the age of 59.

As ABC notes:

“Since his death, Kardashian’s fame has been eclipsed by that of [his] ex-wife Kris, and children Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob, thanks to their reality TV show, ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians.'”

Alan Dershowitz

Alan Dershowitz, is a Harvard law professor emeritus. He was part of Simpson’s defense team. He has since taken on controversial cases, including the defense of the late hedge fund manager and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was also part of the impeachment defense team in the first of two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

Marcia Clark

Marcia Clark, “the trial’s lead prosecutor, quit law after the trial, although she has appeared frequently over the years as a TV commentator on high-profile trials. She was paid $4 million for her 2016 memoir, ‘Without a Doubt,’ and has gone on to write a series of crime novels.”

Lance Ito

Per ABC:

“Lance Ito retired in 2015 after presiding over approximately 500 trials. Simpson’s trial made him such a household name that ‘The Tonight Show’ briefly featured a comedy segment called ‘The Dancing Itos,’ in which lookalikes performed in judicial robes. After the Simpson trial[,] he had to remove his name plate from his courtroom door because people kept stealing it. Ito has never discussed the trial publicly, citing judicial ethics.”

Mark Fuhrman

Mark Furhrman was a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He responded to the crime scene after the bodies of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson were found. He also went to O.J. Simpson’s residence that evening. At trial, Simpson’s defense team accused Fuhrman of planting evidence in an effort to incriminate Simpson. The involvement of Fuhrman in the case significantly damaged the prosecution’s credibility, as Fuhrman ultimately asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in the case and was convicted of committing perjury about his use of racial epithets.

The damage Fuhrman did to the prosecution’s case is often cited as one of the main reasons for the jury’s acquittal of Simpson.

Some thirty years later, the very gloves at the center of the slayings of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman remain carefully preserved and guarded at the offices of the Los Angeles County District Attorney.https://t.co/pvaZpxC2jN pic.twitter.com/bEtKnm3xVR

— WSPA 7NEWS (@WSPA7) April 12, 2024

Civil Judgments Rendered Against Simpson Notwithstanding the Acquittal

Despite the acquittal in the criminal case, Simpson was ultimately held liable for killing Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson in a civil lawsuit predicated on a wrongful death cause of action. Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the family members of the victims.

Simpson’s Subsequent Criminal Convictions and Imprisonment on Unrelated Charges

In 2007, more than a decade after his acquittal, Simpson led a group of men into a confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. Two of Simpson’s cohorts had guns. A Nevada jury convicted Simpson of armed robbery and other felonies, despite Simpson’s claim that he was simply seeking to reclaim property of his. As a result, Simpson spent approximately a decade in prison.

O.J. Simpson’s Death

Afflicted with prostate cancer, Simpson passed away on April 10, 2024.

Reactions

Reactions have come from various quarters, including friends and family members of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown-Smith. Attorneys involved in the “trial of the century” have also weighed in, as have members of the Kardshian family, who have a connection to the case.

The Goldman Family

Ron Goldman’s father, Fred, and his sister, Kim, released the following written statement:

“The news of Ron’s killer passing away is a mixed bag of complicated emotions and reminds us that the journey through grief is not linear.”

Fred Goldman further commented:

“The only thing I have to say is it’s just [a] further reminder of Ron being gone all these years. It’s no great loss to the world.”

Family of Nicole Brown-Simpson

Gloria Allred, who represented Nicole Brown Simpson’s family during the trial, told TMZ:

“Simpson’s death reminds us that the legal system even 30 years later is still failing battered women, and that the power of celebrity men to avoid true justice for the harm that they inflict on their wives or significant others is still a major obstacle to the right of women to be free of the gender violence to which they are still subjected.”

Lawyers

Alan Dershowitz told NBC News:

“I knew [Simpson] was very sick, so I’m upset that he died. I got to know him fairly well during the trial. It was one of the most divisive trials in American history along racial lines. He’ll always be remembered for the Bronco chase, for the glove[,] and for the moment of acquittal.”

The Kardashian Clan

Caitlyn Jenner didn’t mince words.

Good Riddance #OJSimpson

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 11, 2024

As reported by Entertainment Weekly:

“The erstwhile Olympian is tangentially connected to Simpson through her ex-wife Kris Jenner, who was previously married to Robert Kardashian. Simpson’s close friend, Kardashian served as one of the NFL star’s defense attorneys after he was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.”

These poignant, visceral reactions, coming nearly three decades after the deaths of Ron and Nicole, show what a monumental event the homicides were, and reinforce the sentiment that Simpson’s trial was indeed the trial of the century.

For more sports-related news, focused primarily on the USC Trojans, SMU Mustangs, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Rams, please follow me at @vshjah_Victor.