by Carl Conrad

Created on: June 19, 2009   Last Updated: July 02, 2009

It's only a book! Not even a very good book. The only thing it has going for it is that it's about OJ Simpson - the man some people can't stop hating.

I can understand that. Many people believe that OJ brutally and senselessly killed two innocent people and got away with it - Nicole Simpson, his ex-wife, and Ron Goldman, a young man who just happened to be returning some glasses that Nicole's mother had left at a restaurant earlier in the evening. It may be true that he did it, but it is not what our justice system determined.

A group of twelve jurors were mutually selected by both a prosecuting team and a defense team, then evidence was minutely debated in what was the longest jury trial in California history (9 months), and a decision was made that there was not enough untampered, clearly-identified, linked to OJ evidence to convict him. While that may not be a decision that many people wanted, it was done under the rules of evidence that apply to all of us, and may even provide exculpatory arguments for others who face similar circumstantial but tainted evidence.

Still, all of us have to live with the conclusion, whatever our feelings. That means that OJ, as well as the rest of us, has to live with that verdict. But, it greatly limits his ability to live under the vindictive threats of his detractors. He has financial debts to pay as well as moral debts, and he has the added difficulty of paying his bills without a socially-acceptable way to do it.

People don't want to see him on television, in movies, as a sports announcer; they don't even want him fielding questions on talk shows. This book was one way in which he could bring in some income, and it even offered an answer to the oft-asked question: If he did it, how was it done?

Not only that, but all the profits of the book go to the Ron Goldman fund. OJ isn't making any money (that he can keep) from the sale of the book, yet Ron Goldman's family is receiving revenue from it. That's a winning situation any way you look at it!

So, don't disparage the man for merely using the assets that he has available. I read the book and found it to be shallow, repetitive, and not even believable. The only real addition to the story was that in this fictional version, there was another man with OJ who witnessed it all and helped him get rid of some of the evidence. If that's worth buying the book, then OJ deserves this burst of fame!

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