Your current location:HOME >entertainment >O.J. Simpson, football star turned celebrity murder defendant, dies at 76 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 18:36:12 Source: Internet compilationEdit:entertainment
Washington —O.J. Simpson, the American football star and actor who was acquitted in a sensational 19
O.J. Simpson, the American football star and actor who was acquitted in a sensational 1995 trial of murdering his former wife but was found responsible for her death in a civil lawsuit and was later imprisoned for armed robbery and kidnapping, has died at the age of 76.
Simpson, cleared by a Los Angeles jury in what the U.S. media called "the trial of the century," had died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, his family posted on social media on Thursday.
Simpson avoided prison when he was found not guilty in the 1994 stabbing deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. Simpson later served nine years in a Nevada prison after being convicted in 2008 on 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.
Nicknamed "The Juice," Simpson was one of the best and most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s. He overcame childhood infirmity to become an electrifying running back at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player. After a record-setting career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Simpson parlayed his football stardom into a career as a sportscaster, advertising pitchman and Hollywood actor in films including the "Naked Gun" series.
All that changed after Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman were found fatally slashed in a bloody scene outside her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994.
Simpson quickly emerged as a suspect. He was ordered to surrender to police but five days after the killings, he fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate - carrying his passport and a disguise. A slow-speed chase through the Los Angeles area ended at Simpson's mansion and he was later charged in the murders.
What ensued was one of the most notorious trials in 20th century America and a media circus. It had everything: a rich celebrity defendant; a Black man accused of killing his white former wife out of jealousy; a woman slain after divorcing a man who had beaten her; a "dream team" of pricy and charismatic defense lawyers; and a huge gaffe by prosecutors.
Simpson, who at the outset of the case declared himself "absolutely 100 percent not guilty," waved at the jurors and mouthed the words "thank you" after the predominately Black panel of 10 women and two men acquitted him on Oct. 3, 1995.
Prosecutors argued that Simpson killed Nicole in a jealous fury, and they presented extensive blood, hair and fiber tests linking Simpson to the murders. The defense countered that the celebrity defendant was framed by racist white police.
The trial transfixed America. In the White House, President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office and watched the verdict on his secretary's TV. Many Black Americans celebrated his acquittal, seeing Simpson as the victim of bigoted police. Many white Americans were appalled by his exoneration.
Cruise worker 'murders newborn son on board ship': Shocked co2024-05-21 18:20
San Bernardino police arrest teen for murder of 142024-05-21 18:14
Queen Camilla praises Kate Middleton2024-05-21 17:33
Queen Camilla praises Kate Middleton2024-05-21 16:58
Nuggets blow 202024-05-21 16:22
Life's little luxuries: Facial massage tools2024-05-21 16:18
'The more, the merrier!' Mother of Princess Beatrice's stepson says she is still close with her ex2024-05-21 16:17
Camilla wore very rare brooch to Easter Sunday service in touching nod to her mother2024-05-21 16:12
Verona confirms Serie A status for another year after beating Salernitana2024-05-21 15:55
Masterful meals: Masterchef 2010 champion Dhruv Baker's cherry and hazelnut chocolate roulade 2024-05-21 15:50
Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co2024-05-21 18:29
Dune: Part Two review2024-05-21 18:18
Dune: Part Two review2024-05-21 18:15
JENNI MURRAY: The Cass Report is a voice of reason on trans dogma that must not be ignored2024-05-21 17:46
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro2024-05-21 17:36
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa honoured for her achievements in Parliament2024-05-21 17:16
I lost everything I owned in a storage unit fire where I stored my possessions after a break2024-05-21 16:35
WWII bomb found in garden in UK city taken out to sea2024-05-21 16:32
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants2024-05-21 16:20
KiwiSaver contributions: Big gap between men and women2024-05-21 16:02