OJ
Simpson has created an uproar with plans for a television interview and book
titled If I Did It - an account the publisher pronounced "his confession" and
media executives condemned as revolting and exploitive.
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TV
network Fox, which plans to air an interview with Simpson on November 27 and 29,
said on Wednesday that Simpson describes how he would have committed the 1994
slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman,
"if he were the one responsible".
Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder after a trial that became an
instant cultural flashpoint and a source of racial tension.
He
was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful-death suit filed by the
Goldman family.
Denise Brown, sister of Simpsons slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson,
lashed out at publisher Judith Regan of ReganBooks for "promoting the wrongdoing
of criminals" and commercialising abuse. The book goes on sale on November 30.
She said: "Its unfortunate that Simpson has decided to awaken a
nightmare that we have painfully endured and worked so hard to move beyond." Ms
Regan refused to say what Simpson is being paid for the book but said he came to
her with the idea.
"This is an historic case, and I consider this his confession," Regan
said.
Simpson has failed to pay the $US33.5 million ($NZ51.48 million) judgment
against him in the civil case. His National Football League pension and his
Florida home cannot legally be seized.
He
and the families of the victims have wrangled over the money in court for years.
The victim families could go after the proceeds from the books sales to
pay off the judgment.
But a legal analyst said there are ways to get around that requirement -
like having proceeds not go directly to Simpson.
"Clever lawyering can get you a long way," said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola
University law school professor and former federal prosecutor who has followed
the case closely.
Levenson noted that the criminal justice systems protection against
double jeopardy - being tried twice for the same crime - means Simpsons book,
explosive as it may be, should not expose him to any new legal danger.
She said Simpson could create an extra layer of insulation from any legal
worries by presenting the story hypothetically.
"He can write pretty much whatever he wants," Levenson said.
"Unless hes confessing to killing somebody else, he can probably do this
with impunity."
Simpson did not return numerous calls for comment.
-AP
