Post by happyhaddock on Mar 13, 2008 11:51:51 GMT -5
F. Lee Bailey says O.J. 'absolutely didn't do it'
By Carol Beggy and Mark Shanahan
Globe Staff / March 13, 2008
F. Lee Bailey has defended plenty of guilty people, but he swears O.J. Simpson isn't one of them. "He absolutely didn't do it," the celebrated defense attorney still insists. Bailey, who grew up in Waltham, attended Harvard, and lives now in Lynn, is talking for the first time about his involvement in the Simpson case. Why? Because he's got a book to promote, of course. Called "When the Husband Is the Suspect: From Sam Sheppard to Scott Peterson - The Public's Passion for Spousal Homicides," the book includes a section on Simpson and the so-called "trial of the century." (There's also a chapter on Wenham dermatologist Richard Sharpe.) Bailey, who helped discredit former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman's testimony about the bloody glove, says defending O.J. proved to be a bad decision, both personally and professionally. "It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me," he said yesterday. "It caused a free fall. People turned on me. Some of my best friends, lawyers and judges, treated me like [expletive]." But don't think Bailey regrets springing Simpson. "I certainly believe the guy didn't do it," he said, "and any intelligent analysis of the case comes up with that conclusion." So why do most people disagree? "Because the reporting on the case wasn't good," he said. "People were told every day, 'He's guilty.' "
By Carol Beggy and Mark Shanahan
Globe Staff / March 13, 2008
F. Lee Bailey has defended plenty of guilty people, but he swears O.J. Simpson isn't one of them. "He absolutely didn't do it," the celebrated defense attorney still insists. Bailey, who grew up in Waltham, attended Harvard, and lives now in Lynn, is talking for the first time about his involvement in the Simpson case. Why? Because he's got a book to promote, of course. Called "When the Husband Is the Suspect: From Sam Sheppard to Scott Peterson - The Public's Passion for Spousal Homicides," the book includes a section on Simpson and the so-called "trial of the century." (There's also a chapter on Wenham dermatologist Richard Sharpe.) Bailey, who helped discredit former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman's testimony about the bloody glove, says defending O.J. proved to be a bad decision, both personally and professionally. "It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me," he said yesterday. "It caused a free fall. People turned on me. Some of my best friends, lawyers and judges, treated me like [expletive]." But don't think Bailey regrets springing Simpson. "I certainly believe the guy didn't do it," he said, "and any intelligent analysis of the case comes up with that conclusion." So why do most people disagree? "Because the reporting on the case wasn't good," he said. "People were told every day, 'He's guilty.' "