Editorial: Exploiting a tragedy

Friday, Nov. 17, 2006 | 6:55 a.m.

It would be more productive to take $16.47 out into the parking lot and light it afire than to spend it on O.J. Simpson's upcoming book titled "If I Did It."

Simpson purportedly is going to tell those willing to buy the book how he would have gone about killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman if, indeed, he had carried out the crime.

Simpson, whose now-famous white Ford Bronco trip while leading police on a highly publicized and televised chase, was acquitted in 1995 of murder in connection with the 1994 killings of Brown and Goldman. But the matter didn't end there. In a civil lawsuit filed by the Goldman family, Simpson later was found liable for wrongful death. He was ordered to pay the family $33.5 million, which he has not done.

Years of legal wrangling have not forced the former National Football League star to pay up. By law, his NFL pension and his Florida home cannot be seized for the judgment, the Associated Press reports. And, a legal expert told AP, earnings from the book's sales could be protected from seizure as well, if they don't go directly to Simpson.

The idea that Simpson would exploit this case to earn money that likely will never go toward the huge debt he still owes one of the families is disgusting.

That people may buy this book, and possibly watch a television interview with Simpson that will be conducted on the Fox network, is positively revolting. If the book becomes popular, it may well serve as a commentary on popular culture. What that would say about our culture, however, is almost as disturbing as this book's premise.