Potential juror 'believed O.J. got away with murder'

One of the prospective jurors in the trial of OJ Simpson “felt he got away with murder” when he was cleared of killing his wife 13 years ago, a court heard today.

The former American football star faces life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping and armed robbery charges he faces in Las Vegas.

Simpson, 61, was cleared of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in the so-called “trial of the century” in October 1995.

Today, with other prospective jurors listening, a woman lectured Simpson on his behaviour as a celebrity and declared: “I felt he got away with murder.”

She was one of hundreds of prospective jurors being questioned by Judge Jackie Glass at the Clark County District Court in downtown Las Vegas.

At first she said she would try to be fair, but became increasingly adamant, disclosing the disenchantment of someone familiar with Simpson’s triumphs and disappointed in his fall from glory.

“I’m very opinionated,” she told the court.

“I don’t have any problem giving my opinion and sticking to it.”

She said that, as a juror, she was “going to dig my heels in”.

Under questioning by US district attorney David Roger, prosecuting, the woman recalled Simpson’s impact on her life.

“I have seven brothers,” she said.

“Mr Simpson has been around my life. He’s always been there. I don’t know what team he played for but I know about the Heisman Trophy. I’m from Southern California. My husband loved him.”

Looking at Simpson, she said she thought celebrities needed to watch their behaviour in public.

“I think he chose to be a celebrity,” she said.

“He chose to put himself in the public eye. Everyone is aware of it. He should be a little more self-conscious of his actions. It’s different than it would be for me.”

Asked whether she was going to treat the case differently because of Simpson’s past, the woman said: “I think as far as the first trial, I felt he got away with murder.”

And asked by Simpson’s defence lawyer Gabriel Grasso if she could put aside those feelings and judge the current case on its own terms, she said: “I can’t be 100% sure.”

The woman was later dismissed by the judge after she admitted there was a “smidgen” in the back of her mind that her personal feelings may interfere with the case.

Another woman said she had expected a guilty verdict in Simpson’s murder trial, but insisted that “his past has nothing to do with this case”.

She remained in the prospective jury pool.

The former NFL star faces kidnapping and armed robbery charges which relate to the alleged theft of sports memorabilia at the Palace Station Casino in Las Vegas on September 13 last year.

On Monday, the judge rejected a bid by Simpson’s defence team to ask prospective jurors if they consider him a murderer.

He pleaded not guilty at a hearing in November and has said he puts his faith in the jury.

Selection of that jury panel could take a week or longer before the trial, which is expected to last five weeks, begins, court officials said.

Simpson, who lives in Miami, Florida has denied any knowledge of guns being involved in the confrontation with memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley on September 13 last year.

He has said he intended only to retrieve items that had been stolen from him by a former agent.

In court, once the 12-member jury panel and four alternates are seated, the suit Simpson wore on October 3 1995 – when he was acquitted of the murders of his wife and her friend – will be at the centre of the case.

A civil jury later found him liable, but he has refused to pay the $33.5m in damages.

In 2006, Simpson wrote a book called 'If I Did It', which set out how he might have murdered his wife, had he been so inclined.

But the book was withdrawn and pulped by HarperCollins shortly before being published.

In August last year, a Florida bankruptcy court gave the rights to the book to the Goldman family, who published it under the title 'I Did It: Confessions of the Killer'.