The final days before the shocking "Not Guilty" verdict included Judge Lance Ito advising Simpson that he could testify. "As much as I would like to address some of the misrepresentations about...
Nicole, and our life together," said Simpson, "I am mindful of the mood and the stamina of this jury." He also added that he had confidence ("a lot more than it seems
[Marcia] Clark has") that the jury would find him innocent.
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The ENQUIRER had already revealed that Simpson was insisting that
he had an airtight alibi for the night of the murder — and could account for every hour of June 12, 1994, until a limo driver picked him up about 10:50 p.m. for a trip to the airport. And while defense attorney Johnnie Cochran leaned toward having Simpson testify,
Robert Shapiro wasn't sure about him offering his theory on the murder.
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One legal expert, Leo Terrell, added: "The jury is looking at O.J. every day and saying subconsciously: 'Come on, O.J. Tell us your story. We want to know.' If he doesn't, he runs the risk of the jurors wondering: 'What's he hiding from us?...Many people still love O.J., and there are some members of the jury who desperately want to believe he's innocent!"
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In the end, Simpson beat the rap on the murder charges — but testifying in his own defense couldn't help in a future civil suit. "That is absolutely not true," Simpson routinely replied to questions about the deaths of Ron and Nicole. In the end of that 1997 trial, however, a jury ruled that Simpson had to shell out $25 million in punitive damages to the families of the murder victims.
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