The day OJ Simpson was acquitted

LOS ANGELES (AP) —If ever there was a murder case perfectly suited for media and public consumption, it was the OJ Simpson murder trial. The Los Angeles courtroom spectacle was dubbed “The Trial of the Century.”

The trial lasted nearly a year and was covered in its entirety by AP special correspondent Linda Deutsch, now retired. Deutsch has reported on many sensational trials: Charles Manson, Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, Patty Hearst and the officers charged in the beating of Rodney King, so it was no surprise that a judge made her the reporter court appointee. She appeared on television every day to summarize what had happened.

After the trial ended, Simpson tracked down Deutsch while she was on vacation and called her to give her side of the story. It was the first of several exclusive interviews in the years to come.

Following Simpson’s death Wednesday at age 76, the AP is making available Deutsch’s report from Oct. 3, 1995, the day he was acquitted.

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SIMPSON ACQUITTED, RELEASED, PROMISES TO HUNT THE KILLERS

OJ Simpson went home a free man Tuesday, saved by an unpredictable jury for a life of privilege instead of a life in prison. Acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, he vowed to track down the real killers who are “out there somewhere.”

In a courtroom bursting with emotion, there was silence as Judge Lance Ito’s secretary, Dierdre Robertson, read the two words: “Not guilty.”

Simpson smiled, uttered the words “Thank you” to the jury and then clasped his hands. Lead attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr., standing behind Simpson, patted him on the back and rested his forehead on his shoulder. Attorney Shawn Chapman cried and held the hand of jury advisor Jo-Ellan Dimitrius.

Tears of anguish and cries of joy came from the three families whose lives were destroyed by the bloody murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994.

“Oh my God!” Simpson’s adult daughter Arnelle exclaimed, hugging her brother Jason.

“We did it!” an ecstatic family member exclaimed to defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr.

Disturbingly, the Simpson family saga ended much as it began, with the American football superstar being transported in a white van to his home while news helicopters followed him overhead. Tuesday’s televised verdicts were the most-watched event since June 17, 1994, when Simpson, in a white Bronco pickup truck with his friend Al “AC” Cowlings driving, led police on a surreal low-speed chase seen by millions of people.

Cowlings was at the door to hug Simpson when he arrived home an hour after the verdicts were read. Later, family members gathered for a champagne party on the lawn of Simpson’s lush estate.

Florists, caterers and musicians approached the house and told reporters they were there for a celebration.

The joy contrasted with the solemn atmosphere of the district attorney’s offices.

“Last June 13, ’94 (the day he found out about his son’s death), was the worst nightmare of my life. This is the second,” said Goldman’s father, Fred, at a press conference at the prosecution. “This prosecution team did not lose today. I deeply believe that this country lost today. Justice was not served.”

At a press conference for the defense team, Cochran insisted that the issue of race, which played a lot in the trial, did not overcome the facts.

“This verdict does justice,” Cochran said. “This was an evidence-based case.”

He denied playing “the race card,” saying instead that credibility had won out.

“Race plays a role in everything in America,” he said. “But this playing a race card is absurd.”

But defense attorney Robert Shapiro disagreed, saying he was “deeply offended” that Cochran had compared the police detective who found the bloody glove to Adolf Hitler. He said that he would never work with Cochran again and that he would never speak to attorney F. Lee Bailey.

“To me, the Holocaust is the most horrific human event of modern civilization,” Shapiro said. “And with the Holocaust came Adolf Hitler, and to compare this in any way to a dishonest police officer, in my opinion, was a mistake.”

He said of Cochran: “He believes everything in America is related to race. I don’t.”

Although it was his decision to include Bailey in the case, Shapiro said he was upset when the legendary attorney took on a role in the courtroom and cross-examined witnesses.

“I will never speak to F. Lee Bailey again,” he said.

Cochran said he hoped the Los Angeles Police Department would change the shoddy investigative practices exposed at the trial.

As the words freeing Simpson were spoken in court, his elderly mother, Eunice, sitting in a wheelchair, wiped away tears, raised her hands in prayer and murmured words of thanks.

“I was always praying. I knew my son was innocent,” he said at the defense meeting with reporters.

Across the courtroom, Goldman said the word “murderer” as the verdict was announced. Kim Goldman, who spent most of the year in court honoring the memory of his dead brother, bowed and sobbed along with a younger brother and sister.

In court, Simpson’s oldest son, Jason, read a statement from his father:

“My first obligation is to my young children, who will be raised the way Nicole and I had always planned. … But when things have calmed down a little, I will pursue as my main goal in life the murderer or murderers who killed to Nicole and Mr. Goldman. They are out there somewhere. Whatever it takes to identify them and bring them in, I will provide it somehow.”

However, Police Chief Willie Williams said he had no plans to reopen the investigation.

“It doesn’t mean there’s another killer,” Williams said of the acquittals.

In his statement, Simpson also noted that many will assume he is guilty, acquitted or not acquitted.

“I can only hope that one day, despite all the damaging things that have been said about me publicly, both inside and outside the courtroom, people will come to understand and believe that I would not, could not and did not kill anyone.” “he said in his statement.

The jurors who acquitted Simpson in less than four hours of deliberations refused to speak to attorneys or explain their verdicts to reporters. The usually elegant juror came to court in unusually casual clothing. A black man smiled at the defense team as he entered the courtroom.

“We won,” defense attorney Carl Douglas whispered, almost astonished.

The verdicts, issued Monday but withheld overnight by Judge Lance Ito to give lawyers and families time to meet, took everyone by surprise. There was immediate speculation that Simpson had been convicted because jurors had asked the court to read to them a segment of testimony considered favorable to the prosecution.

Simpson’s sister, Carmelita Durio, said the family spent the night on “an emotional roller coaster,” praying together and steeling themselves for what was to come.

Her sister, Shirley Baker, who accompanied Durio in the courtroom almost every day in the trial, said she was elated.

“I feel like I’m standing on top of this table dancing,” Baker told reporters.

The verdict reverberated from Los Angeles to the White House, where President Clinton watched the verdicts on television and later wrote a statement.

“The jury heard the evidence and returned its verdict,” Clinton said. “Our justice system demands that his verdict be respected. At this time, our condolences and prayers must be with the families of the victims of this terrible crime.”

Earlier, Clinton was briefed on the federal government’s plans to help California authorities if the Simpson verdict sparks civil unrest. But the streets remained calm.

Outside the courthouse, most of the crowd of more than 1,000 people pressing the police barricades cheered wildly, as the not guilty verdicts were broadcast on portable radios.

Some chanted, “Justice means acquittal, acquittal means justice,” followed by shouts of “Free OJ!”

Across town, in Brentwood, where Simpson and Goldman were murdered, the mood was less jubilant.

“If you make a lot of money, I guess you can commit murder,” said Elizabeth Condelli, who said she knew Mrs. Simpson from her children’s school.

The verdict was reported in headlines around the world. Within hours, local newspapers had published “Extra” editions featuring Simpson’s smiling face and the words “Not Guilty.”