O.J. Simpson

About

O.J. Simpson, real name Orenthal James Simpson, is a former American football player who later in life became the prime suspect in the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson in a high-profile murder trial dubbed the "trial of the century." Simpson was acquitted of all charges, yet the trial still has been a source of fascination in popular culture. In 2007, he was charged with multiple felonies including armed robbery and kidnapping, and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was granted parole, and released from prison on October 1st, 2017. On April 10th, 2024, O.J. Simpson died after a battle with prostate cancer.

History

Orenthal James Simpson was born July 9th, 1947 in San Francisco, California.^[1] He attended USC where he entered the national spotlight as a star running back, winning the Heisman Trophy one year.^[2] The Buffalo Bills selected him with the first overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, where after several decent seasons, became an NFL Star in the 1973 season, when he set the single-season rushing yards record.^[3][4] He spent nine seasons with the Bills and two with the San Francisco 49ers before retiring after the 1979 season. He was inducted into the pro-football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Murder Trial

The O.J. Simpson Murder Trial was a highly publicized criminal trial of retired American football player Orenthal James Simpson on two counts of first-degree murder relating to the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman in June 1994. Following a lengthy and dramatic trial by a grand jury that lasted for eight months, Simpson was ultimately acquitted of all charges in October 1995. Due to the celebrity status of the defendant, coupled with an extensive period of intense media scrutiny and turbulent climate of race-relations under which the trial took place, the case was eventually dubbed "the trial of the century" by the U.S. news media.

Arrest for Armed Robbery and Kidnapping

On October 3rd, 2007, Simpson was convicted for armed robbery and kidnapping. Simpson and others had confronted a sports memorabilia dealer, Bruce Fromong, who they believed had stolen Simpson's memorabilia from him. Simpson and accomplices confronted Fromong at gunpoint and stole some of his memorabilia. Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

On July 19th, 2017, he was granted parole after serving the minimum of nine years of his 33-year sentence after being arrested in 2008 for armed robbery. His parole hearing streamed on live television and ran from about noon to 3:00 P.M. EST. All four members of the parole board agreed to release Simpson as he had "no prior convictions," "community support," and "stable release plans." Fromong, testified that he had known Simpson for years and forgiven him.

Online Presence

Twitter Account

One June 14th, 2019, Simpson launched a Twitter account, saying in the first video he posted that he has "a little getting even to do."^[5] The announcement angered many on the social media site, with many saying that it was insensitive and cruel to follow who they believed was in fact a murder, despite his acquittal.^[8]

In one of Simpson's videos, he addressed and denied rumors that he had slept with Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner, and that Khloe Kardashian, who has been rumored to be Simpson's illegitimate daughter, was not his.^[9]

On June 17th, a parody Twitter account @KillerOJSimpson tweeted a video showing DMs he allegedly received from Simpson's Twitter account appearing to threaten him if he did not cease and desist the parody, including knife emoji (shown below).

The DMs could violate Simpson's parole.^[6] Barstool Sports^[7] conceded that the video could be fake, but if so, it is an extremely convincing photoshop.

Search Interest

External References