by guest author Eileen Grimes
This is Part IV in a series that begins with Part I.
News update and sidebar: December 5, 2008. Today, O.J. Simpson was sentenced for his participation in the hotel break-in he staged in order to retrieve some of his personal belongings, and sports memorabilia. He has to serve at least nine years, before he’s eligible for parole. His entire sentence could be as long as 33 years. It does appear that the page on O.J. Simpson has turned; with perhaps his karmic clock finally running out. In court this morning were the parents of Ron Goldman. They have said that it is about time that monster was behind bars.
O.J. Simpson finally had his day in court, and finally, the universe got its payback. In this installment we will look at how, systematically and piece by piece, his public image was dismantled beyond repair. And why it happened. I will return to these events a bit later in this story. This was more than the dismantling of his image -- it was the complete undoing of O.J. Simpson’s soul.
At his sentencing, OJ made a statement, pleading and apologizing, that he really didn’t know he was doing anything wrong and kept saying he was sorry. The judge had no sympathy for OJ at all, and went ahead and gave him a pretty stiff sentence anyway. It was amazing that even after everything that had happened to him, he still seemed to be disconnected from all of it; not really acknowledging that his behavior has brought harm to himself and others.
The fatal blow to O.J.’s life, that ultimately culminated fourteen years later in his sentencing last week, happened on June 12, 1994: The murders of O.J.’s wife and Ronald Goldman ended his carefully crafted image. The world was shocked when these two violent murders occurred; it didn’t even seem possible that such a beloved figure in sports history could commit such a horrific crime.
Things began to unravel quickly. This run-away train kept moving faster and faster, all the while, OJ’s gendarme were trying to control the rate of decline, trying to stem the damage control. Over in Camp OJ, it was all smoke and mirrors - everyone vehemently denied that OJ could have killed his own wife. He was the victim, not Nicole.
As the facade of innocence was quickly taking shape, of course at the core there were enormous doubts. One OJ insider with doubts was Mike Gilbert, the author of How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse. Gilbert’s own comment to his wife at the moment he was told about the murders was “Well, he finally did it.” In the end, Mr. Gilbert went along with the lie throughout the time before and during the trial, as did most of the rest of his cronies.
There were indicators that things were coming to a boiling point several weeks prior to the murders. O.J. was starting to slip into a deep depression and became very morose. He evidently had been taking Prozac, and likely was overmedicating himself (OJ believed that if one dose of something was alright, but a double-dose was better). A psychiatrist questioned for the Gilbert book said that there was a real possibility of committing a violent crime on the drug. The person could commit the crime as though they were in a dream state; in other words, wouldn’t have been present, at the moment of the murders (probably entering a disassociatve state), but would wake later and perhaps realize what had been done.
This seems to be a likely possibilty in the unfolding of the murders - O.J. has consistently denied doing it - but has admitted to “dreaming” about killing his wife, and about being present at the time of the murders. He did admit to Gilbert in this latest book” If Nicole hadn’t come to the door with a knife she’d still be alive”. The acts were incredibly violent, and could have only been done by someone who was very strong and large in stature.
The dismantling of OJ’s image continued throughout the first days after the murders, and all the way through the first trial. Again, OJ was “running:” slipping away from the truth with Sun/Neptune|Moon/Pisces greasing the skids. The cover-ups, omission of significant testimony, placing the blame elsewhere other than OJ, making the trial a racial issue by blaming a cop. O.J.on Prozac during the time of the murders, and “dreams” he murders Nicole.
