Reader Views

Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell

Article first published as Book Review: Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell by Marlene Gentilcore on Blogcritics.

I was incredibly surprised by this book because I was expecting some boring notes and newspaper articles strung together in a haphazard way in an effort to create a story, but what I got was a page-turning mystery that almost demands you join the author as she pursues justice for a family that has encountered so many wrongs.

After a brief intro that sets the stage for the story and a little bit of background on the author that provides insight into why she dedicated a large portion of her life to a family that was nothing but strangers when she first met them, Gentilcore begins leading us down a dark and twisted path filled with numerous mysteries. I’ve read plenty of true crime books but I don’t think I’ve ever seen justice so conveniently and expertly thwarted. As each new clue surfaces, you won’t be able to resist asking yourself how such a thing could occur.

You will feel the excitement of the feisty reporter that’s busting with enthusiasm over the possibilities that are contained within this mystery, and you will still be right by her side as the weary journalist doggedly sticks to the path years later for no other reason than her desire to help this family that seems to have no other place to turn.

I love how the author holds nothing back. Our hero isn’t a perfect and flawless creature that always has the answers. She’s a real person that feels fear and doubt, sometimes using all her strength just to continue a fight that sometimes seems impossible to win. I also like how all the facts, evidence, and clues of the case are laid out for us, allowing the reader to put their detective skills to use in this quest for justice.

My only complaint is how the book ends because the conclusion seems a little rushed, with no sense of finality, but the book still receives five stars because that’s the price of true crime. Unlike fiction, real drama seldom has a conclusion packed with an overwhelming sense of fanfare; real drama just ends. Still, I wish there had been just a little more depth in the last couple of pages.

If you’re a fan of true crime or mystery stories, you need to give “Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell” a try. I guarantee you will never again look at quiet college towns the same way.


Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell
Marlene Gentilcore
Edgewood Pr (2011)
ISBN 9781595716484
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (1/12)

Consensual Consequences: A True Story of Life with a “Registered Sex Offender”

“Consensual Consequences” by Lynn Gilmore is the true story of a woman’s journey married to a registered sex offender.  After ending her first marriage, the author moves closer to family in Arkansas to start a new life.  Soon after arriving, she meets Allen, a never before married man, who, though flawed, gives her the positive attention she’s been seeking.  He confesses that he is an alcoholic yet he is never abusive to her or her two daughters.  The most shocking confession Allen makes, though, is that many years before he had had consensual relations with a girl under the age of sixteen at a party.  Though confessing to not realizing her age, he is charged with third-degree carnal abuse and required to register as a sex offender.  Gilmore marries Allen anyway and in the years she has been with him, never had any fear that this one time act in poor judgment would ever be repeated, and according to her, it has not.  However, the fact that Allen must be a registered sex offender, makes their lives (including the life of their young daughter together) quite challenging as they are faced with having to confess their secret publicly and never allow Allen on school grounds without another adult.

“Consensual Consequences” is an interesting read.  While the first part mostly highlights the love affair between Gilmore and Allen, the last part of the book comes on strong, in a good way.  I will admit that I was skeptical about “feeling sorry” for a registered sex offender and quite honestly couldn’t care less if they were all lumped together.  However, after reading this book I have changed my mind, and I assume that was the intent of the author, to educate people about the wide array of offenses that cause people to be placed on the registered sex offender list including underage teenage consensual sex, public urination, etc.  Her point is well made that placing everyone on one list doesn’t help us parents to distinguish who is most a threat to our children (by seriousness of the crime).  That point alone didn’t convince me to want to change the laws, but the point that law enforcement is then forced to spread themselves thin keeping tabs on all of the registered offenders, no matter the offense, instead of better tracking the rapists or child molesters, for example, makes perfect sense to me.  I’d much rather the energies be focused on those dangerous to society rather than a teenage boy who had sex with his seventeen-year-old girlfriend and got caught by an angry parent.  I don’t have the answers, but Ms. Gilmore’s mission seems logical.  “Consensual Consequences” will really make the reader think.

Consensual Consequences: A True Story of Life with a “Registered Sex Offender”
Lynn Gilmore
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2011)
ISBN 9781934759509
Reviewed by Marissa Libbit for Reader Views (4/11)

After the Murder of My Son

No parent should ever lose a child to death regardless of the circumstances, but for Mary and Mark Westra their child should have never been kicked to death. How do you handle the news that your child has died when you just saw him a few days before? How do you get the real information of what happened and what do you do when the justice system lets you down?

The Westra’s were a wonderful, close knit family who enjoyed doing things together. The parents were always loving and understanding of their children. Their son Peter was a successful investment banker in New York; he was handsome, fun and loved life. After he attended his grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration, he flew to Atlantic City to meet college buddies for a bachelor party. Even though the place chosen to party wasn’t something Peter or his friends normally did, they were having fun and not bothering anyone. And as Mary says “does it really matter where the party was or if the young men were drinking?” What really is important is what happened when Peter and a bouncer got into a conflict and Peter ended up being stomped to death and left in the gutter.

Even though the actual events were hard to come by, the bouncers went to trial. Trials in themselves are torture in that you have to recount in detail what others think happened. How do you sit there and listen to the inhumane events? The Westra family was still grieving and had a hard time trying to understand how someone could so callously take the life of another human being. Even though the system is in place to take care of the victim, sometimes it fails and those who are perpetrators get off with little or no prison time.

“After the Murder of My Son” is a wonderful memoir about the process of grief, shock and finally some healing. It is told with great passion, honesty and emotion. You can feel the family’s pain, and how they eventually began to help others who have had the same thing happen to their child. Mary takes her grief and healing and puts it to a good use to remember her son and others. Readers will be stunned at what happens in the criminal justice system and question everything that was done in the trial and leading up to the trial.

After the Murder of My Son
Mary Rondeau Westra
North Star Press of St. Cloud (2010)
ISBN 9780878393985
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (11/10)

Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals

True crime stories are always a fascinating read, but oftentimes they leave me wondering what truly went through the criminal’s mind while planning or executing the crimes. “Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber” took care of this question rather nicely – most of the narrative comes directly from the perp himself, Leslie Ibsen Rogge, who at one time was on the FBI most wanted list and proved to be extremely difficult to catch.

Well, let me put the record straight. The book was actually written by Dane Batty, Leslie Ibsen Rogge’s adoring and worshipping nephew, who provided the Introduction as well a certain amount of framework on comments on the story, which was basically written by Leslie himself. I have to admit that I was not familiar with Leslie’s story, although quite a few crimes he committed actually happened close to where I live, but they happened before my times. Leslie’s way of robbing banks was rather distinctive: he would dress well and ask to speak to a manager of a bank that he’d previously checked out. He preferred smaller banks with all-female staff. Once inside, he’d say, “Let's not turn this into a homicide,” and the managers would comply. His escapes were always brilliantly simple, if somewhat daring, and for a very long time he managed to elude capture. He would usually walk away with a substantial sum, which he invariably managed to spend in a rather short period of time, and then he’d start planning the next robbery.

He was eventually captured, tried and sentenced, but he managed to escape in a rather spectacular way, simply walking out of the door before being transferred to jail. What follows are years of living on the water, cruising in the Caribbean and having lots of fun, while being constantly aware that the FBI is on his heels. They finally capture him and Leslie Ibsen Rogge is now an inmate, due to be released in 2047, when he’d be well over a hundred-years-old. Funnily enough, after reading about his adventures, this does not sound impossible.

“Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber” was a charming and unusual book, filled with humor and unabashedly unapologetic. I am certain that it will find an appreciative audience among those readers who enjoy true crime stories, as well as those who enjoy straight talk.

Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals
Dane Batty
Nish Publishing Company (2010)
ISBN 9780615268453
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (11/10)

The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee

This is a wonderfully-written book filled with detailed information about Chicago’s Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee. No one better than Bilek, a former chief of the Cook County Sheriff's Police and currently an adjunct professor at Loyola University, to condense years of research into a factual accounting of vice and corruption in Chicago during the years between 1893 and 1920. Included are pictures of the area along with maps of the 1st Ward and South Side Levee.

Vincenzo Colosimo (later known as Big Jim or James), was born in 1878 in the small town of Colosimi, Italy. In 1891 Vincenzo's father Luigi sent him to America hoping Vincenzo would become wealthy and send money back to Italy to help support the Colosimo family. He chose Chicago because of its huge railroad hub to the west and its great potential to find employment. Little did Luigi know that the rest of his son’s wealth would come from corruption and vice after his first and only legitimate occupation as a newspaper hawker.

Two memorable political figures in Chicago who helped Jim move up in the ranks as a vice-lord were Aldermans "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna. Although they had totally opposite personalities, they worked well together in getting the job done which was apparent in the fact that they wielded authority and power in the First Ward that lasted for years.

For readers who aren’t familiar with the prostitution that took place in Chicago during those years, Bilek goes into great detail explaining brothels, white slavery, and levees. He devotes three chapters to the infamous madams of the Levee, Ada and Minna Everleigh. The Everleigh Club, called "the most famous and luxurious house of prostitution in the country" flourished for 11 years before being shutdown by Mayor Harrison in 1911. This marked the beginning of the end of the Levee in the 22nd Street red light district.

Between 1912 and 1914 the Levee deteriorated into a slum. Colosimo’s Café where Big Jim did much of his wheeling and dealing was razed in 1958. Prior to that the building had changed hands over the years but many still remembered it as the place where Jim was gunned down in the entrance to his cafe (2126 S. Wabash Avenue) on May 11, 1920.

Many questions still remain unanswered today. Who shot Big Jim? Where were the hundred thousands of dollars in cash that Jim had stashed away? What did Ada and Minna do with the estimated one million dollars in cash and two hundred thousand in jewelry when they moved to Manhattan to live out the remainder of their lives? Perhaps Bilek will write a sequel to "The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee," if he can unearth this information.

The First Vice Lord
Art Bilek
Cumberland House (2008)
ISBN 9781581826395
Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (11/08)

Ritual Abuse in the Twenty-First Century

There are rituals for almost every aspect of life from birth to marriage to death. But there is evidence of another category of rituals and that is ritual abuse. Generations of men and women have been victimized by ritual abuse perpetrated on them from early childhood. The examples of this abuse include torture, deprivation, pornography, prostitution, deception and other deviant or illegal activities. This type of abuse goes on all over the world. According to a recent online survey, survivors of ritual abuse responded to the characteristics of abuse they were subjected to. Those respondents identified their abuse experiences as including: 1) Incest, 2) child pornography and prostitution, 3) sexual abuse by multiple perpetrators, 4) being caged, 5) starvation, 6) bestiality, 7) buried alive, 8) electroshock, 9) sensory deprivation, 10) sleep deprivation, 11) forced cannibalism, 12) secret government-sponsored mind control experiments.

These all sound painful and shocking to read, but this is the reality for millions of children. "Ritual Abuse" is an important book that examines ritual abuse for the Twenty-First Century. The first few chapters explain rituals, the language, politics and history. Chapters three and four explain the commonalities adult survivors experience as a result and the differential diagnosis to determine ritual abuse. Other chapters explore terrorism, the "false memory" controversy, satanic abuse, and mind control. There are also heartbreaking stories told in first-hand accounts of ritual abuse survivors and recognizing and treating survivors of abuse.

As a social worker, this book appealed to me directly from my past experience with working with children who have survived abuse. I haven’t personally treated a child who suffered from ritual abuse, but I believe it is a type of abuse that needs more attention. The stories are difficult to read, but important to tell and I applaud the contributors of this book for doing so, especially the survivors. The chapters cover a broad base and each one is laid out in a way that is easy to read, yet is a wealth of information on this subject. Even those who aren’t in the psychology or social work field will find this book a compelling read. I hope "Ritual Abuse in the Twenty-First Century" gets the attention it deserves and more importantly we find a way to eradicate ritual abuse, and protect our children all over the world.

Ritual Abuse in the Twenty-First Century
Editors Randy Noblitt and Pamela Perskin Noblitt
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2008)
ISBN 9781934759127
Reviewed by Tracy Kokemuller for Reader Views (8/08)

Killer-for-Hire: The Final Chapter of the Alabama Twins Murder Case

Betty Wilson was the wife of a well-liked doctor in Alabama. When he was murdered, she was tried and convicted without real evidence linking her to the crime. A man did confess to murdering her husband. This man initially said that Betty and her twin sister were involved with hiring him. He later recanted this, and said that he acted on his own and it was a burglary gone awry. The man didn’t think that Betty’s husband would be at home. Betty had never met this man, however, knew about him through her twin sister that was trying to help him out. Schizophrenic alcoholic and a conman, the man said that he implicated Betty because he was forced to. He was threatened with going to the electric chair if he did not.

Not all of the pieces tied his story together. Dennis Johnson had heard this man bragging about burglarizing the home of this rich family. He didn’t think too much about it until later on he discovered that there had been a murder and Betty Wilson was wrongfully convicted. Dennis contacted supporters of Betty’s to try to help. His own character was torn apart once he started trying to help. Betty had several people trying to help her. Her story in prison is very painful because prison conditions are absolutely horrible in Alabama. Corruption and abuse run rampant in the system. Being a wealthy white woman has not helped Betty with the inmates.

Betty’s supporters have tried to help her with appealing, but meet many dead ends. They have discovered that there are people trying to prevent the truth from being told so they can protect themselves. There are also a lot of people after Betty’s money, and this is not discovered until after they have taken thousands of dollars. The whole story is fascinating and very sad because it is true and happening in our times.

“Killer-for-Hire” had a profound impact on how I view our justice system. Prior to reading the story of the Alabama Twins, I always assumed that a prosecutor would only pursue cases where he/she had enough evidence to convict. In this true story, politics and corruption heavily play into the conviction of an innocent woman. I happened to read this book while I am serving jury duty. It has given me a completely different perspective on our system. If this case happened to one person, I think that it can be assumed that it has happened to many people. The book also opened my eyes to how prisoners are being mistreated. I hope that this isn’t the case everywhere, but some of the prison employees are worse than the criminals. Safeguards should be put into place to stop this abuse.

“Killer-for-Hire” is a very interesting story. Betty Wilson has her issues, but being a murderer is not one of them. I think that readers will find this book fascinating. You can also go to a website to read more and sign a petition for Betty.

Killer-for-Hire: The Final Chapter of the Alabama Twins Murder Case
Barbara Lunsford
Mystery Crime Scene (2007)
ISBN 9780980119107
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/08)

Justice Defeated: Victims: OJ Simpson and the American Legal System

Steven H. Adler, in “Justice Defeated: Victims: OJ Simpson and the American Legal System,” exposes how the trials that followed the tragedy of a double murder became a travesty of justice by those who saw O. J. Simpson’s celebrity status and the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman as a golden opportunity for making money, assuring career status, or gaining fame.

“Justice Defeated” is written in response to the book “Triumph of Justice the Final Judgment,” written by Daniel Petrocelli’s, attorney for Fred Goldman in the civil trial.

In his analysis of Petrocelli’s book Adler convincingly argues that there was an actual perversion of justice in the handling of both trials. Adler asks the reader to consider the possibility that O. J. Simpson was not the murderer and, further, to examine the question as to why some more likely suspects were never pursued.

I enjoyed Adler’s ongoing sparring match with Petrocelli throughout his book. For example, “You provide a criticism of some lawyers. You make a very large statement here, Mr. P.”

He then quotes Petrocelli as writing, “Lawyers can be really deceitful; we can make powerful and passionate arguments that are just totally false.”

Adler presents forensics and logical analysis to enable the reader to form their own opinion about whether or not O. J. did murder Nicole and Ron. Steven gives the reader insights into the impact of racism, the pursuit of money, manipulation of information, engineering evidence out of context, and exploitation of the media in polluting the legal system and creating popular public opinion.

Steven analyzes every aspect of Petrocelli’s book, page by page, and argument by argument. He responds to each at the risk of becoming redundant. Adler takes the reader through the deposition of witnesses, the discovery stage, the jury selection and the trial itself, reiterating the main points of the civil trial and Petrocelli’s supporting evidence. He covers all the stories, theories, speculations, and fabrications of the case.

Adler invites his readers to interact and get involved by acting as a member of the jury panel, to vote on possible scenarios, to submit experiences of being abused by lawyers, and to recommend improvements to how justice can truly be served in our country.

The appendix of the book includes a Jury Voting Card, comments on “The Blare of Silence,” letters to O. J.’s kids, Fred Goldman, the Browns, and to Daniel Petrocelli, Esq.

In these letters Adler explains how the book evolved with more that one theme, first to recommend that before people conclude how a crime took place they should have sufficient facts. Secondly, attorneys instigate much of the problem. On this one he calls Daniel Petrocelli to task. And finally, the justice system also gets caught up in achieving a desired result rather than pursing the truth.

Adler challenges the reader to be intellectually honest and to join in a chorus speaking out against the seriousness of this dilemma. “Justice Defeated” is a wakeup call to every American and should be read by anyone involved in the Justice System or concerned about an untainted Justice in the future in America.

Justice Defeated: Victims: OJ Simpson and the American Legal System
Steven H. Adler
AuthorHouse (2007)
ISBN 9781434316622
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (12/07)

Fred and Kim Goldman Say They Hope “If I Did It” will be a Proactive Tool for Victim’s Rights

(Transcript of live interview, December 2008)

Juanita: Hello and Welcome to Inside Scoop Live, the live audio program brought to you by ReaderViews.com

I’m your host, Juanita Watson, and today, I have on the program, Fred and Kim Goldman, the father and sister of Ron Goldman who was tragically murdered along with Nicole Brown Simpson in Brentwood CA in June of 1994.

In 2006, HarperCollins announced the publication of a book in which O.J. Simpson told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders. In response to public outrage that Simpson stood to profit from these crimes, HarperCollins canceled the book. A Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the Goldmans in August 2007 to partially satisfy the unpaid civil judgment, which has risen, with interest, to over $38 million.

Amidst much controversy and criticism, The Goldman family has recently published “If I Did It; Confessions of the Killer,” which they view as O.J.’s confession, and has worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth. This book is the original manuscript approved by O.J. Simpson, with up to 14,000 words of key additional commentary.

I’m very happy to have the Goldman’s on the show today, to talk about the journey they have been on to get the rights to this book, the confusion that has been created in the media around their story, and recent events that have OJ back in the spotlight.

So, welcome to Inside Scoop Live Fred and Kim,

Fred: Thank you, thank you for having me, and having us.

Kim: Thank you for having us.

Juanita: Great. So, “If I Did It” came out in September of this year, just a few months back and how has sales been so far?

Fred: The book has done well. I think slowly but surely people have begun to read the book and others have learned about it and I think that what will ultimately happen is that people will read the book and discover that this is in fact the equivalent of a confession and they’ll learn in his own words what kind of monster he is.

Juanita: Hmmm. So Kim, do you feel that having this book at this point on shelves has brought some sense of peace or vindication for your family?

Kim: Well, peace and vindication to me are two totally different things, I guess. Vindication I guess in the sense that he worked really hard to not have us acquire this book and we were successful. And beating him in that struggle, I guess there’s some vindication in that regard, but also more importantly I think, you know, he did this for his own meal ticket and he did this for his own ego. We were able to turn it around on him and remind the world of my brother and the brutality in which he committed those crimes and the fact that 13 years later, he’s finally admitting it.

Juanita: So in 1995, OJ was found not guilty of the murders, but then in 1997 he was found liable for I believe it was willful and wrongful cause of death for Ron and Nicole. How, you know this kind of set in somewhat confusion for the public I think right there. What was the difference in those charges?

Fred: The difference being is very simply that one is a criminal charge, the state filing charges against him, and unfortunately, he was found not guilty. The second, the civil trial is us filing a suit against him and that jury ultimately did the right thing and found him responsible for Ron’s Murder.

Juanita: What is the amount that was ordered in that judgment to both the families, your family and the Brown family?

Kim: I believe it was $19 million to our family, $19.5 to our family and $12.5 to the estate of Nicole Brown, which are the killer’s kids. $33.5 between the two families.

Juanita: And you actually, in what I just said, you actually don’t use OJ’s name, you refer to him as “the killer”?

Kim: Yes, I haven’t heard his name since 1994 probably.

Juanita: Is that right? So tell me about that. Why not use his name?

Kim: I guess because when I refer to people by their first name and in my world, that means that they are some level of, I don’t know, respect or formality or personalization I guess and I think calling him by his name gives him some credit in my world that I don’t think he deserves. It’s very hard to hear his name because it’s too casual. Even when you hear reporters refer to him just by his first name as opposed to his first and last name, there’s a level of casual feeling about him, and it frustrates me and I think he’s a killer. He murdered my brother, he stabbed him in the heart and he nearly decapitated Nicole. That’s what he is.

Fred: And additionally, I would add that when people use his name which are his initials, I think they think of him as this “ex-big-deal-football-player” and the bottom line is that’s not who he really is. Who he really is is a vicious murderer.

Juanita: That had to have been for the public the biggest hurdle to get over because there was this image that basically all of America had of him. And so it would be very hard to, I mean it just

seems like a huge hurdle, a huge leap, but I think with this book coming out, I mean the illusion is being shattered at this point.

Kim: Well, I think the illusion was shattered when you started hearing him, reports of how he beat up Nicole for one and when in the criminal case when all the evidence was against him. I don’t think it’s taken 13 years for the illusion to wear off. I mean, quite frankly, I didn’t even know who he was before. I don’t care about that stuff. I don’t really care about people who are celebrities. I still think at the end of the day, you are still who you are and you’re still capable of, you know making mistakes like everybody else does. He just happened to make a very big one that was very public. I guess from hearing other people talk about the fact him, you know, he was so beloved. At the end of the day, he ran a football down a football field. Deep inside, he was still a killer.

Fred: And additionally, I think it’s sad that we judge people in theory by their occupation. They’re a football player, they are an actor, whoever. I’d like to think that we judge people by something deeper, who they are, what they are, the kind of quality of human being that they are, not just by their job.

Juanita: Very true. So, Fred, take us from the point where the civil action, the judgment was made, take us from that point to OJ’s move to Florida, what you were doing in the interim, what he move to Florida, take us to that point.

Fred: Well, once we had the judgment, it was a quick realization that that judgment is simply a piece of paper and the court gives you the piece of paper, basically says that that individual owes you a specific amount of money as compensation for what he did. And then you’re on your own. The system is done with you. It’s up to you, the holder of the judgment to find some way to make that individual responsible and collect so to speak on the judgment. He moved to Florida for the sole purpose of avoiding the judgment. The ever friendly state and that’s why he’s there. He’s vowed numerous times as has his attorneys, or as have his attorneys to make certain that they help him avoid the judgment. He’s never going to willingly honor that judgment. So, it’s our responsibility, our promise to ourselves, our promise to Ron that we would force him in any legal way that we can to honor that judgment. That’s the only way that we are ever going to get any measure of justice.

Juanita: So, how did you first hear about the Harper Collin’s announcement in 2006 that they would be releasing OJ’s book.

Kim: I heard it from the National Enquirer. A friend of mine who had a copy of it or saw it or something called me and read it to me. And I believe that I called my dad afterwards. We really didn’t think much of it at the time, truthfully. We just kind of blew it off and never really attached too much attention to it and then, I think it was about two weeks later that bigger story broke that it was Harper Collins and Judith Reagan that were publishing it with them. I think both my dad and I, or I can’t speak for him. I thought that is was probably going to be more of a back alley printing publication, I didn’t really, you know he does so many stupid things. You know, over the course of the years, he’s done all these ridiculous things to get him back in the media. I guess I just assumed this was another one of those and then when the truth of the story came out that he was paid upwards of close to a million dollars for the book, and then it was Harper Collins and Judith Reagan, obviously, it rest…

Juanita: Unfolded from there. So, it was all over the news programs and eventually, the book was pulled and it really seemed to be, you know a great victory for both of your families. And I think this is where a lot of the confusion and the criticism begins because then not more than a year later, your family is publishing OJ’s hypothetical confession, and then there seems to be a split that’s happened between both of your families. So walk us through that; how you ended up with the rights to this book.

Fred: Well, first of all if we had it to again today, we would do the exact same thing. We spoke out against the book for several reasons. One, we wanted to stop him from making money on the murders of Ron and Nicole, and two, we were concerned as to what the contents of the book were, fearful that it might be the equivalent of a how to manual. Ultimately, we learned that he had already been paid close to $700,000 and was expecting more. He had another $300,000 coming as an advance. So unfortunately, he had already been paid. Additionally, once we were able to acquire a copy of the manuscript, we discovered that no, it wasn’t a manual on how to commit murder, but it’s a read that once you go through it, you have very little reason to believe that it was an admission of guilt, a confession. And we levied down the right on the book in order to prevent him from ever gaining any additional money, and in doing so, we ultimately because he and his kids who had formed a fraudulent company, formed a company to move the money from Harper Collins to the killer to avoid the judgment. And in doing so, they ultimately filed bankruptcy of that company in order to avoid, to stop us from getting the rights to the book. And it is through bankruptcy that the rights were awarded to us because the asset, the rights, had to be turned into money according to the bankruptcy court. And the bankruptcy court gave us the option to be involved in that. We chose to do that because we knew that there was a very good chance that the rights could ultimately have gone back to the killer, and we would have right back to square one. So we got involved and promised the court that we would do everything we could to monetize that asset.

Kim: I also want to add so there’s no confusion. People often think that we had a choice to not publish the book, and was not an option. When my dad said, they gave us an option to participate, it was really, the option was do you want to help have control over this book. It wasn’t that you could either publish it or not publish. Not publishing it was never an option. The asset had to monetized, no matter who did it. We chose to participate in that because we wanted to have control over it so that we could at least make sure that the message was with as much integrity and dignity for Ron and Nicole that we could have. So it was never that if we didn’t participate, the book was going to be shelved. That was never. People are confused by that.

Juanita: I think that is an incredibly important point because that is the first time I have ever heard that and that really I mean, that really is just not something that is out there in the media, so I’m really glad that you were able to voice that right now.

Kim: But the point that my dad makes about us promising the court, the court basically wanted to ensure that we would do whatever we could to maximize, you know the earning potential of that asset, you know because it there responsibility ironically, is to pay down all the killer’s debts. So, by publishing this book, we are helping him satisfy other debts that he has, including some attorney’s fees that he walked out on, as well as the estate of Nicole Brown is going to benefit from us publishing this book. And we are also paying down a portion of our judgment with our publication of the book which to me is incredibly ironic, but…

Fred: I think it is also fascinating to recognize one additional fact and that is, when the killer sat down with his kids to discuss the book, they all signed off on it, all approved of it, and all expected to make money. When the $700,000 or so ultimately channeled its way down to the killer, he used the money to pay off back taxes, bills, buy a car, etc. And as best as we know, he gave no money to his kids. Now through bankruptcy, and through the fact that some of the monies that is generated by the publication of this book, monies go back to the bankruptcy court, and one of the judgment creditors is the estate of Nicole Brown, her two kids. They now will actually gain some financial, gain some money from our publication of the book when they did not when their father did it.

Juanita: Ok. So how did you find out, this corporation that OJ formed with his kids, Lauren Brooke Associates, how did you find out about this company?

Kim: How did we find out about it? I think when we levied on the book rights, or we levied on the contract or something, I forget, it’s just it came out in some paperwork, and we found out that it was Lauren Brooke Associates, which are the two middle names of his two oldest daughters, Sydney and Arnelle. And we found out that that was the company that was being used as the cover up so to speak, and quite honestly, that’s not the first time he’s done that. We’ve uncovered other companies that he’s done to achieve the same goal which is putting money into his pocket and avoiding the judgment. And it is perfectly legal, which for us even more frustrating. Perfectly legal.

Juanita: Absolutely. Have the children talked to media, or have they come out and made any statements about the formation of this company?

Kim: No.

Juanita: They haven’t at all?

Kim: No, I think Arnelle who is the president of Lauren Brooke, you know in her deposition, we deposed her. She was the one that said, you know all of the kids sat down, we discussed the book. We sat down around the kitchen table, we discussed the book. We all agreed to do it. My younger brother and sister, Justin and Sydney, signed off signatories on the company. I mean, she confirmed it.

Juanita: Interesting. Why do you think OJ wrote this book to begin with?

Fred: Well, my personal view is that he always needs to be the one in charge. He also always needs to be the one who has, what he perceives is the last word. I think he wrote it, at least from my perspective, I think he wrote it so he could make certain that everybody knew exactly what took place. Additionally, I think he did it for money, most assuredly, and I think he did it, in some way, in his own strange mind, to glorify himself. He starts off in the book, by saying, “Forget everything you knew about this case, etc. I know better than anyone what happened.” And he’s right, he does.

Juanita: Did you have anything to add to that Kim?

Kim: Mostly I would echo what my dad said. I just always thought that the reason, part of the reason was to sort of quote “the rest of us might have gotten it wrong”. He was quoted in an

interview “I hate when other people speak for me. I wanted an opportunity to speak for myself.” And I think he wanted to in some way, to glorify him and his relationship with Nicole. You know if you read the book, he talks about himself in this angelic state throughout the entire book, that he was trying to save her from herself kind of thing. He wants to elevate himself, an above-it-all mentality. I think that he wanted to, you know get his voice out there.

Juanita: It really, it really is very strange because in his so-called confession, hypothetical confession, you know he does really portray Nicole as being completely out of control, and himself basically doing no wrong. I mean it really, it’s very strange.

Kim: Well, but those are the classic sides of an abuser.

Fred: Exactly.

Kim: I mean he points the fingers at her completely, I mean when we first read it, my belief, ok, he’s justifying why she deserves to die. I mean that’s what the point of this book was, why she deserves it. I mean that’s the way I interpreted it. You know and that’s pretty sick.

Juanita: I’d like to know both of your reactions upon reading the book for the first time and going through, especially where he is talking that confrontation in the courtyard with Nicole and Ron. What were your reactions to reading this for the first time?

Fred: Well, for me if I can, I started it several times and had a hard time getting into it, but finally, I found it very disturbing, very disturbing because I realized that I was reading the words of the monster that murdered my son. And needless to say by the time we got to the specific chapter in which he talks about murdering Ron and Nicole, that was a real struggle for me and very painful. It was painful for the obvious reasons and it was additionally painful for me to listen to him review if you would how he taunted Ron and how he made fun of Ron. This man is a monster, a piece of trash, calling him a murderer isn’t enough.

Kim: I don’t know. I don’t know that I have much more to add. I think the first time I read it or I skimmed it, I was looking to see if there was anything descriptive in there. Because all the criticism was that we were publishing a murder manual. And then when I finally sat down in the quiet of my own state, I was incredibly moved by that paragraph, I mean by that chapter. For me, it didn’t deviate from the criminal case. I already knew the information, but hearing the killer sort of recount all of the emotion from that night and all of the excitement and I don’t mean that in a positive way, obviously, but like all of the energy that was happening, that was difficult for me because I’ve always wondered about those last couple of minutes of Ron’s life.

Juanita: How close to the truth do you feel that that text and that recollection is? Do you believe that that is pretty close to the truth?

Kim: I do. You know the only thing that was new information for me was the dog that was wagging his tail. You know, I guess it comes down to this for me at the end of the day. An innocent person wouldn’t write a book like this. An innocent person wouldn’t sit down and write a hypothetical about how he would have killed the mother of his children, an innocent person. So I walked into it believing that he was confessing, so everything that I read, I came from the mindset

that it was pretty damn close to what happened that night. Of course, was there was probably some [inaudible] saying that he attached to it, I’m sure but I don’t really know exactly. But for me I’m reading it from a place that this is his confession and I’m going to take what he is saying is the truth.

Fred: And additionally, I think it’s important to recognize that he does not contradict virtually any evidence at all. As a matter of fact, he in some ways explains things that were unknown. He makes a point of commenting on the route that he took back to his home from Nicole’s

Kim: Very detailed

Fred: And that’s how some thought it was one way. He’s going to clarify. He told you exactly how he drove home. Additionally, I think for me his commentary about being covered in blood and that
at some point, he took off his clothes before getting into his car. He took off his outerwear and bundled it all together, which for me would explain why in fact, there wasn’t even more blood in the car. He is so arrogant that he ultimately ends of telling you virtually everything because quote un quote “he knows better than anyone” and he wants to be sure that you know that.

Juanita: What do you make of this mysterious second person that he talks about and they use the name Charlie. What do you make of that whole aspect of this?

Kim: Alter ego. I believe it’s just his, you know subconscious state of mind that you know was trying to tell him, you know the good and evil. I think that was probably be a play. I don’t know. I mean I’m not a killer, I don’t know how that state of mind works in the scenarios, but that’s my belief that it was just an alter ego.

Fred: And additionally along those same lines, he had an opportunity if he wanted to use this Charlie individual, he had an opportunity to place the blame on this Charlie, but he didn’t. He never blamed the crimes on Charlie at all. He took the knife, or was given the knife, so to speak, from Charlie, and he ended up with all the blood on him. Again, I think that this is him saying I know better than anybody and I’m certainly not going to give the strangely enough, glory to somebody else.

Juanita: Good point. Both those are. So the prologue of this book is written by Pablo Vendez who was the ghost rider to OJ’s original book. And really, I mean this chapter, his account of working with OJ is well worth the price of this book itself. It’s just so telling. What are your thoughts on Pablo’s account of OJ and his confirmation that OJ signed off and approved every change and authorized this final version?

Kim: I don’t know, I mean I think that I think I appreciate that Pablo was willing to do that. I know that he was under some attack participating in this project. I think again, I think for my father and I it’s different because we have been dealing with the killer and his whole team of people for the last 13 years, so to hear him recount how that went down, there was nothing new there for me. It was sort of well of course that was going to be, ahh of course. You know, I wasn’t shocked by it, partly because we had been dealing with it on such an intimate level for so long. But I do think for people that don’t know too much about this case or continue to know too much about this case, I think that was probably an eye opening experience for them to see how he is and to have other people account for his behavior. You know, they are saying that he is loved all over the country and that he’s

God’s gift and that he’s always in the right and blah, blah, blah. And so I think that having Pablo sit down and tell him you know how his mood shifted and how he would erupt and the swearing That’s what we believe him to be.

Juanita: It is really a descriptive account. For me it was very telling. Did you have anything to add to that, Fred.

Fred: No, I think as Kim said, Pablo virtually verifies everything that we’ve known for years. That he’s a monster. He thinks he can do no wrong. Bottom line, believes that everybody else gets it wrong and only he knows best.

Juanita: So I also really think it’s interesting in Pablo’s account how he recalls a conversation with Barbara Walters who was trying to get an interview with OJ as he was trying to release this book. Barbara had called Pablo the next day saying that really this account was one of the most chilling
things that she had ever read and I’ve heard that many, many people the same comments after reading this book. What do you think it is about this story that is the most shocking to readers?

Kim: I don’t know. To be honest with you, I guess because I am too close to it. For us, I’ve never been able to totally wrap my head around the fact that a country still is so passionate and so attached to this story. I don’t know what it is, if it’s him or if it’s that he got away with it. If it’s you know, the blanket was pulled back over our justice system. I don’t really know what it is that really still attached people to this is. Maybe it’s his arrogance, you know him walking around and still kind of snubbing his nose at us and the system and the community. And the book is just another opportunity for him to say hey, look what I can do. I am going to confess, double jeopardy is in play here so you can’t charge me again with these crimes. Look what I can do, I can make a million dollars before anybody knows about it. And I don’t really care. I mean, I think there are all those components that are added here. Again, for me reading the book, I personally didn’t learn any new information because I am so close to it. But I think for people who have not been following it, have not read every news article, have not seen every interview, there’s probably a lot of information in there that people were alarmed to hear him recount. And then again, like I said earlier, you know an innocent person, most of us would not sit down and write a book about how we would kill people. It’s just unheard of. You know, our minds just don’t think that way. So I think there’s a component that that people are like wow, he really did this.

Fred: It’s additionally important to realize that this is a chance to listen to the words of this monster himself. He tells you the kind of person he is, not us telling you. He tells you himself the kind of person he is, the fact that he’s an abuser, the fact that he’s a narcissist, a sociopath. He tells you that. He’ll convince you very completely of the kind of person that he really is.

Juanita: So how is this split between your family and the Brown family specifically Denise. I know that there, in the media, that there was a lot of controversy around that. How do the families stand today?

Kim: You know, truthfully, our two families have been connected by this crime for the last 13 years. We’ve both been grieving families and we deal with our grief in different ways. You know, we’ve always been part of Denise’s efforts to make movement, you know on behalf of domestic violence. That’s important to them and we applaud her efforts in doing that. Our efforts have been

to protect victims’ rights and try to ensure some justice for Ron and Nicole by pursuing the judgment. That’s been important to us. The fact that Denise has come out so opposed to what we are doing, I guess my father and I are trying to find some room to give to her because I think that there is some uneducated, some lack of education in terms of why we got here. As far as we know today, she still has not read the book. And so I don’t know how someone can speak so angrily about something that they haven’t participated in. I also think that she’s in a tough spot. She’s not going to be able to come out against her niece and nephew who have been documented that they signed off on the deal. I mean she for a while was very accusatory towards my father and I that we were causing them pain. And then when we find out that they signed off on it, you know that argument sort of fell by the wayside a little bit. So I’m trying to afford her as much leeway as I can. I feel for her. She’s in a tough spot. I just wish that her anger was pointed more directly at the people that had caused this. My dad and I did not cause this. It’s our legal right to pursue this judgment. It’s my father’s judiciary responsibility to pursue this judgment on behalf of Ron’s estate and our right is just as public as community people that we have a right to pursue our judgment that was awarded to us and I feel very comfortable that this is the appropriate path to take for our family. And it might not be for there’s and that’s okay.

Juanita: Did you have anything to add. I mean it must be a hard

Fred: No, Kim said it incredibly well.

Kim: But yeah, to answer your question, is it incredibly hard because the attention you know was, the attention on our two families was ridiculous. That’s not what this should have been about. I mean, we got distracted by this so called in-fighting between the two families. My father and I have no ill will towards Denise and her family. We are pursuing an action that we feel is appropriate to us and the fact that the media picked up on that, we get it. But at the end of the day, again our interviews should be focusing on the person who created this, and again, that’s the killer.

Juanita: Do you think that the media just really kind of made a mess out of this whole story?

Fred: You know, it’s a mixed bag. I think for the most part you know, were it not for the media to be so deeply involved in the trial, there every single day, cameras there every single day, I don’t think that the numbers of people who thought that there was an injustice here would have been anywhere near that. I think that at times, the media gets off on the wrong tangent worrying about things that have no purpose like Kim just said a moment ago. But the bottom line is I think that the vast majority of people know him to be a murderer and were it not for the media, that would not have been the case.

Juanita: So what do you make of OJ’s current legal battle, and I don’t even know where it’s been left at this point. I haven’t been tuned in to the news lately, but what do you think of this new twist so many years later. That he is front and center, in trouble once again?

Kim: Well, you hit the nail on the head. He’s in trouble once again. I mean this is not the first time that he’s been in trouble. Every year or two, he’s doing something to create some drama around himself. This is not the first time that he’s been in court and accused of something since his acquittal. So for us, you know when we first heard about it, we were in New York and we kind of laughed it off, not really, I think attributing too much attention to it just because we didn’t know the

level of severity behind it at this point, you know, I can’t get ahead of myself. I don’t want to get too excited about the possibility of him spending time in jail because I have been disappointed before on that note, so I’m just going to sit back and be patient and hope that the Las Vegas police department moves through this in a methodical fashion and that they don’t jump the gun, no pun intended, and that they you know cross every “t” and dot every “i” and that we can be assured that there is nothing that can come back up on appeals and that if in fact he is guilty, that he does what needs to be done and that’s you know be jailed. I just don’t know.
Fred:

And I agree and I think that when all is said and done, I don’t think we should, we can lose sight of the fact that if he does go to jail, he’s still never been aptly punished for Ron and Nicole.

Juanita: Will that be something that the two of you pursue until that does happen? For as long as that will take that he, you know that you will be watching or waiting and working towards having him admit to this crime?

Fred: Well, we’re going to be after him until he’s dead. It’s as simple as that. We’re not going to let up just because he’s in trouble in Vegas. The fact is that we are going to continue to make every effort we can to get some semblance of justice for the horrible crimes that he committed.

Juanita: So putting this book out there, you know, it really, I know that one of your intentions was to get the truth out there. To get his words, his point of view out there. Did you have any other hopes for having this book on the shelves?

Kim: I think I know that my father and I feel very strongly about this is, you know most of the book is written about how his relationship was with Nicole and how abusive that relationship is, and so if there is an opportunity for a woman to read it and identify herself with Nicole and then someway have the courage and strength to get out of that relationship, then you know we’ve done a good thing. And I think I hope that you know people walk away with some hope in that regard if in fact they are in that situation. My father and I also added a victim’s resource section to this book, and we also are donating a portion of the proceeds to the Ron Goldman Foundation of Justice so we can help other victims of crimes sort of navigate themselves through this horrific process. So, you know again, our contribution to this book was to in some way hopefully, you know attach some level of dignity and integrity to what happened to Ron and Nicole. And the killer doing it, it would have been sensationalistic and it would have been just more disgusting than it already is, and so I hope that something positive comes from it. As difficult as this process was, it was not an easy decision for us to do it. So we worked really hard to try to make something positive out of it.

Juanita: So, how can listeners find out more about the Ron Goldman Foundation? Do you have a website?

Kim: Yes, you just said it. It’s www.RonGoldmanFoundation.org

Juanita: Sorry, what kind of work specifically are you doing with the foundation?

Fred: Just so you know and then Kim will further answer. The foundation was just recently started. As Kim said, we’re going to donate some proceeds from the book to the foundation. The publisher

is, the literary agent is, so the work has not literally begun, but it will and Kim can give you the details.

Kim: Well, you know I mean, you know it’s in two stages. And so my father and I over the last 13 years have been volunteering our time to speak out on behalf of victims’ rights and this is the first time from a financial position to try to contribute and help in some ways. So we have some ideas of how we want to further assist and I think it’s more partnering with the other organizations that are doing such amazing work on behalf of victims’ rights. So you know, there is so much that has been happening in the last couple of months, but I’m excited and I’m proud I’m part of the foundation.

Juanita: Wonderful. Yeah, everything did pretty much happen within the last two or three months so I’m sure that the whole process has been overwhelming for your family.

Kim: Yeah.

Juanita: No kidding.

Kim: Yeah. I think you know just because our family you know in our situation is on television doesn’t mean that we are the only ones to deal with this. I think it’s necessary to point out that families struggle through these kinds of situations on a daily basis. As our system is not designed to protect the victims, but it’s designed to protect the criminals and so when we’re left in a situation like our families for example, we’re left to our own devises and I think this is an unfortunate state of affairs on our systems and hopefully we can shed some light on that and do some good to help other families.

Fred: And I think along the lines of what Kim just said, we are without question not the only family that has gone through this. The same year that Ron was murder, there was approximately 21,000 other individuals that were murdered, and every year since. You are talking about enormous numbers. Today, murder rates are about 17,000 every year. You are talking about numbers that are enormously greater than the people that are lost in wars in our country and those people, those families that go through the pain of losing someone to violence, those are the families that we have to think about and be concerned about in our so called justice system, not the monsters that commit the crime.

Juanita: Absolutely. What are the families that you have talked to that have read this book that you know have had family members in domestic abuse situations. What are their comments on this story and the point of view of an abuser?

Kim: We’ve had an enormous amount of email coming into the website. Again, once people understood our reasoning for doing it, people were very supportive. I had one woman in particular tell me that she you know appreciated that we were courageous enough to do this because it takes courage to fight your assailant no matter what if you’re in an abusive relationship or if you’re in this kind of situation, the courage it takes to do that, and she appreciated it because it reminded her of the courage it took her to leave her abusive husband. So, you know I also think that victims’ families that have been on the receiving end of an injustice like our families were have all been incredibly supportive and have said go get them, keep on them, you know you can’t let them ever get away with it. I think that unless you have walked in our shoes, you can’t completely embrace the struggle, and I don’t fault anybody for that, but that’s just, you know this is a commitment that

we have made and this is a necessary thing that we for us to be doing to ensure that he’s held accountable. And I think anybody that’s in our boat whether their criminal or their accused or whatever is walking free or benefiting or profiting from their crime, you do whatever you can to stop that from happening because it’s not right. And you know the support in that regard has been phenomenal and I’m incredibly appreciative on behalf of our family for that.
Juanita:

Wonderful. Well, you know our time is actually coming to an end here and I just wanted to thank you so much for talking with us today on Inside Scoop Live. It’s been a wonderful interviewed and I think you’ve clarified a lot of points that have been left in a state of confusion in the media right now, and I just wanted to let you both share any final thoughts that you would like to before we end today? Fred did you want to start?

Fred: I think the only thing that’s important to always remember is that we would like to see a justice system that cares more about the victims in this country than it does about the criminals and the accused. And unfortunately right now, the term criminal justice system seems to very clearly
define the system. Perhaps if it was called the victims’ justice system and clearly was more concerned about victims, we’d all be in a better as a country. Victims in this country account for enormous toll, enormous toll on our society, both physically and financially, and a system that works hard to ensure that violent people are put back out on the street is not the kind of system that I think most people in this country would like. So, as people get involved in the pain or reading about the kind of trauma that occurs from violent crime, hopefully they will begin to speak out as do victims already in this country to ultimately end up with a system that’s there for the vast majority of us instead of the few that commit all the crimes.

Kim: You’re incredibly articulate, Dad. I echo everything that you just said. I also want to add specifically as it relates to this specific book that I hope that the next time someone goes to shake his hand or get an autograph from him that they are reminded that those are the hands that killed two people. And I hope that our efforts and the efforts of this country to ensure that justice prevails that he is pushed into a state of exile and you know and that he just sort of falls by the wayside. That would be fantastic for us.

Juanita: Wonderful, final thoughts. Thank you so much for talking to us today. Much sympathy for your loss and we certainly support you and your endeavors for victims of crimes. Thank you so much for your time today Fred and Kim.

Fred: Thank you

Kim: Thank you. We appreciate it.

Juanita: Thank you very much. Well, there you go listeners. This has been Fred and Kim Goldman. The book, “If I Did It, Confessions of a Killer” is in stores now. Check it out and support the endeavor of the Ron Goldman Foundation. Thanks so much for listening to Inside Scoop Live. I’m Juanita Watson.

(You may listen to the live interview on www.insidescooplive.com)

If I Did It

When I first heard about O.J. Simpson’s planned book, I was utterly confused. Why would anybody want to confess to a crime that he was acquitted of? Why would O.J. go to all that trouble to earn money, since he so diligently avoided paying the judgments levied against him in the civil court? What in the world could possibly be his motive?

Then I heard about the Goldmans fighting to take control of the rights to the book. a book that by now was being described as a hypothetical “how I could have committed those murders” and not a confession… a book that was dropped by HarperCollins, the publishers who originally announced its publication… a book that created a humongous controversy… Should it be published? If so, why? What purpose would it serve?

The original manuscript, ghostwritten by Pablo F. Fenjves, is preceded by two extraordinary sections. In the first one, the Goldman family talks about their loss and about their fight for justice. Having read that, I can see why they wanted the book published, and I find no fault with that. The next section was written by Mr. Fenjves, who was hired to ghostwrite O.J.’s story. It is a most intriguing account of collaboration between himself and O.J. as well as an insight into O.J.’s personality. To me, it would be worth reading this book just for the first two sections alone.

Then there is the main attraction, the “is it a confession or is it just fiction?,” the original manuscript approved by O.J. Simpson. I am not an attorney, so I will not pass my judgment on whether O.J. is guilty of this crime or not. But I do not have to be a shrink to read between the lines of his story. He has never done anything wrong. He has never – not once! – hit Nicole. He tried everything and then some, but Nicole was way out of control and abusive. Hmmmm, makes one wonder… Granted, I was not there, but this account reads like smoke and mirrors – and carnival mirrors at that. The crowning glory of this account is probably “The Night in Question,” a chapter on how O.J. could have “perhaps maybe possibly theoretically and if so, why” done it. Before you read this chapter, you might want to re-read Mr. Fenjves’ Prologue; just to refresh your memory. Describing this chapter as chilling is truly putting it mildly. Equally as powerful is chapter 7, “The Interrogation,” containing actual transcript of a 32-minute initial interview conducted by two police officers. One has to ask oneself exactly what was O.J. trying to achieve by including it in the book. O.J.’s convenient lapses of memory and the ambiguous answers did not exactly endear him to me.

The final two sections, an Afterword by Dominick Dunne and Resources, round up this book nicely. Dominick Dunne, an investigative journalist and writer, whose daughter was murdered in 1982, fully endorses the Goldmans’ actions and explains his reasons why. The Resources list nine organizations that provide support for traumatized and victimized persons, with concise descriptions of those organizations and contact information for all of them.

Having read the book, I am still confused as to why O.J. would have wanted this published. I certainly do not think it portrays him in a positive light. O.J., clearly very much in love with himself, would probably disagree with me though…

Overall I found “If I Did It” insightful, if immensely sad. I hope it provides some measure of comfort and hopefully a closure to the Goldmans, who will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice. As for myself, I am happy that I am not a celebrity, nor married to one.

If I Did It
The Goldman Family, O.J. Simpson
Beaufort Books (2007)
ISBN 9780825305887
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (11/07)