Most Americans who followed the murder trial of NFL legend O.J. Simpson in the mid-1990s got a glimpse of the Los Angeles courtroom where he stood trial through their television set.
But one woman who got to watch it all unfold in person was Linda Deutsch, an award-winning Associated Press court reporter who for decades had a front-row seat to many of the nation’s most sensational and high-profile cases. They included the Simpson trial, dubbed by many the “trial of the century.”
Simpson, an American football legend-turned Hollywood actor who died Wednesday, April 10, after battling cancer, was accused in the mid-1990s of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. He was initially acquitted but later found guilty in a separate civil trial.
On Thursday, Deutsch, who had appeared on television daily throughout the Simpson trial to report what she’d witnessed in the courtroom – and who went on to land exclusive interviews with Simpson in subsequent years – recalled the fallen sports hero as “charming.”
“You couldn’t really get to know him without liking him. That had been a big part of his success after he left football,” Deutsch said in an interview. “He was a national (football) hero. … He became a TV commentator of sports, he did all those Hertz commercials. … He was also a good-looking guy and photographed well. As far as celebrity, he was the perfect celebrity. He really transcended the racial categorization – both Blacks and whites loved him.”
Simpson was the first celebrity whose trial was broadcast on network television, and it captivated audiences around the world.
“The whole world – at least the country – became very invested in it. It was like (the public) were all part of the jury,” Deutsch said. “The trial brought America closer to the justice system. They could see how exactly it worked. … Even though it was such a bizarre trial, it gave you an idea of how justice was served…
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