Your current location:HOME >business >O.J. Simpson, football star turned celebrity murder defendant, dies at 76 正文
TIME:2024-05-08 00:06:13 Source: Internet compilationEdit:business
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.
Minnesota legislators consider constitutional amendment to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights2024-05-08 00:04
Georgia's Kirby Smart becomes the nation's highest2024-05-07 23:49
Ryan Gosling gushes over partner Eva Mendes and brands her the 'best acting coach'2024-05-07 23:23
Incredible moment paddleboarder has very close encounter with pod of curious orcas off Alaska coast2024-05-07 23:19
Police break up pro2024-05-07 23:19
Position switch back in high school pays off for Seahawks' first2024-05-07 23:06
Emily Ratajkowski displays her cleavage and backside as she dons thong in VERY sexy shoot2024-05-07 22:41
F1 paddock watches to see if Verstappen leaves Red Bull with car builder or if Hamilton lands Newey2024-05-07 22:34
Zendaya's Met Gala style: Her biggest and boldest fashion statements so far2024-05-07 22:20
Lil' Kim's Quiet Storm dance moves helped SAVE woman from drive2024-05-07 21:37
Double European weightlifting champion Pielieshenko killed in Ukraine war2024-05-07 23:44
Displaced Gazans burn solid waste for cooking as fuel, shrubs run out2024-05-07 23:30
Rita Ora shows off her glamorous sense of style in a black cape as she steps out in New York2024-05-07 23:20
Emily Ratajkowski displays her cleavage and backside as she dons thong in VERY sexy shoot2024-05-07 23:11
5 workers dead, 49 still missing after a building under construction collapsed in South Africa2024-05-07 22:41
Pregnant Lea Michele shows off her baby bump in cropped sweater and leggings for walk with 32024-05-07 22:31
AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean2024-05-07 22:14
Lil' Kim's Quiet Storm dance moves helped SAVE woman from drive2024-05-07 22:10
Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness is retiring after 38 NHL seasons2024-05-07 21:58
AP Week in Pictures: Asia2024-05-07 21:29