Simpson's Lucky Day Later Became His Worst

CLEVELAND - O.J. Simpson was once the luckiest man on Earth. With overwhelming evidence suggesting he murdered two people, he was stunning acquitted of all charges 14 years ago today. Alas, the universe shifted and he was sent to prison on the same day, 13 years later on different charges.

Karma or coincidence? Who knows?

Simpson, once a revered pro athlete and successful businessman became persona non grata in most of the U.S. following the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. Based on an agglomeration of evidence pointing directly at him, his alleged guilt in the heinous crimes seemed highly apparent. Lengthy court proceedings ensued, including an historic, high-profile criminal trial that lasted nearly nine months and culminated in a completely unexpected (and very divisive) "not guilty" verdict on October 3, 1995.

America's reaction was largely divided along racial lines. Blacks celebrated and Whites were infuriated. It became a popular opinion that Simpson literally got away with murder, and plagued him in the coming years. He was found liable for the two deaths in an early 1997 civil trial, but publicly declared that he'd never pay the judgement which totaled close to USD $34 million.

Simpson's lack of contrition and carefree lifestyle heavily contributed to the already searing anger and frustration of Fred Goldman, father of murder victim Ron. The elder Goldman became determined to legally pursue O.J. at all costs to force him to pay the judgement. He successfully won the rights to Simpson's planned 2006 book, If I Did It, which detailed his life with Nicole and included a very controversial, hypothetical account of the infamous murders. The Goldman family halted its release, then made a few subtle alterations while keeping Simpson's own words in tact. They modified the title to, If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.

The book was released in September 2007, just days after Simpson got involved in a convoluted kidnapping and armed-robbery caper in Las Vegas. Apparently, O.J. sought to reclaim "stolen" memorabilia that was once his by using force. The kidnapping charges were the most severe and ultimately led to a 2008 trial of Simpson and his co-defendant.

On October 3, 2008, O.J. was found guilty of all charges.

The incredible irony of the guilty verdict being issued on the 13th anniversary of his legendary '95 "not guilty" verdict was not lost on anyone. Many felt that O.J. finally got what he had coming to him through karmic intervention. Others felt that he was unfairly convicted, and was simply being forced to pay for what many consider to be his transgressions back in 1994.

Two months after the verdict, Simpson was sentenced to nine to thirty-three years in prison. Who knew that holding hostages at gunpoint for stealing one's "former" belongings could result in so much prison time?

I just wish that O.J. would have learned his lesson after being on trial for such serious crimes back in 1995. The fact that he was acquitted in spite of such damning evidence should have made him live a saintly, humble and anonymous life, instead of a shameless, unapologetic and hedonistic one.

O.J. didn't learn anything from his experiences. But I sure learned a lot.