It’s been more than 20 years since a jury acquitted disgraced NFL star O.J. Simpson of murder in the bloody courtyard stabbings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. , a Nevada jury found him guilty of numerous felonies. on charges of armed robbery involving some of his own memorabilia.
After his acquittal in the California murder trial, some analysts said racial tensions were amplified by the 1992 acquittal of a group of Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King. However, the court further criticized him for the lesser charges. Las Vegas robbery, experts say.
Simpson, 61, was sentenced to 33 years in prison for robbery and kidnapping and was released on parole in 2017 after serving a minimum of nine years.
O.J. Simpson dies: Landmark 1990s murder trial continues as racial tensions rise in L.A.
O, flanked by attorneys Gabriel Grasso (left) and Yale Galanter (right), appears in court on charges including kidnapping, assault and robbery at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19, 2007.・J. Simpson (center). (Clint Carlsen/AFP via Getty Images)
“Celebrity Justice Works Both Ways” says the author, who has followed the Simpson case for decades, convincing the judge to allow television cameras into the courtroom and sparking true crime coverage on TV. said Los Angeles media lawyer Royal Oaks. . “Simpson beat Rupp[in Los Angeles]largely because of his fame and fortune, but in the Las Vegas trial, his fame and greed led to him receiving a much heavier sentence than any average man would receive.” This is a “redo” of the justice system that was previously handed down. ”
There were also reports of alleged “jury nullification” in which the majority black jury was accused of acquitting him on the basis of racial motivations. Legal experts say the hammer was swung in the opposite direction in Las Vegas.
O.J. Simpson dies at 76, family says
Split images show the various reactions as crowds gathered to hear the verdict in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial for the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in the 1990s It is shown in (Héctor Mata/AFP via Getty Images; Michael Monfort/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
“The Las Vegas convictions were retaliation for the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman,” said David Gelman, a former prosecutor and now a New Jersey defense attorney.
“The evidence in the Las Vegas case was not as strong as the evidence in the murder case.”
O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown pose at the premiere of Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Esult, starring O.J., on March 16, 1994 in Los Angeles, California. Simpson. (Vinny Zufante/Getty Images)
Moreover, Simpson said he was close to the maximum sentence a typical defendant would receive.
Photo: O.J. Simpson’s history
O.J. Simpson is seen in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 12, 2023. (Mega/GC image)
“This shows the jury knew about the murder, because everyone in the world knew,” he said. “And they almost made it their job to punish him, even though that’s not supposed to be the purpose.”
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Simpson died Wednesday at the age of 76 in Las Vegas after a battle with cancer. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 as a running back at the University of Southern California, and in 1973 became the first running back in the NFL to rush for more than 2,000 games in a single season.
After an 11-year NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, he turned to Hollywood and co-starred with Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley in the police comedy The Naked Gun.
