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If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
The Goldman Family
Beaufort Books, 254 pages
"I'm the same O.J. I haven't changed a bit." -- O.J. Simpson's reminder to Nicole Brown when she tries to reconcile their estranged marriage (p. 46).
Pretend it's Jan. 1, 2007. Of these news events in the coming year, which charges will O.J. Simpson face?
A. He finances an illegal dogfighting ring and supervises the execution of the dogs who can't keep up. (Bonus: This story will introduce the phrase "rape stand" into the lexicon.)
B. At a Las Vegas strip club, he throws thousands of dollars on stage to "make it rain"; after he becomes incensed that the dancers tried to retrieve the money, the evening ends with gunfire that leaves a club bouncer paralyzed for life.
C. He creates a disturbance during a speech by Sen. John Kerry, and uniformed police drag him away while he screams "Don't Tase me, bro!" until he is shot with a Taser.
D. He and various goons -- one perhaps carrying a firearm -- storm a Las Vegas hotel room in a "self-organized sting operation" to retrieve memorabilia, including an autographed photograph of him with J. Edgar Hoover.
The only sure thing: O.J. is arrogant enough to think he could escape unscathed from any of this.
So while we wait for choice D to sort itself out, we can read Simpson's book If I Did It.
You junkies of O.J. trials will love it, for it has a twist. Here, Simpson puts Nicole Brown's character on trial.
He doesn't seem concerned that she's no longer around to defend herself. Though he does call on her to defend him:
"I never once raised my hand to her -- never once -- and if Nicole were alive today she'd tell you the same thing." (p. 19).
It long ago became useless to try to make things up when it came to Orenthal James. As the masterful crime novelist Michael Connelly wrote in the Los Angeles Times in 1994:
