If I Did It Book: OJ Simpson’s Controversial Confession

Few books have sparked as much outrage before a single copy was sold as O.J. Simpson’s hypothetical confession. When his ghostwritten book If I Did It hit shelves in September 2006, the backlash was immediate, and the legal battle that followed reshaped who profited from the story.

Book release date: September 13, 2006 · Copies sold per court order: Approximately 400,000 · O. J. Simpson’s prison sentence (years served): 9 years (2008–2017) · Murder trial verdict: Not guilty (October 3, 1995) · Civil trial verdict: Liable for wrongful death (1997) · Goldman family awarded book rights: In 2007 via bankruptcy court

The Goldman family, who had already won a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment against Simpson, saw the book not as a confession but as a chance to finally collect on that debt. This guide traces how a controversial publishing deal became a final chapter in one of America’s most divisive cases.

Six key facts about the book and its legal aftermath reveal a pattern of unresolved questions and determined pursuit of accountability.

Why Was the ‘If I Did It’ Book Controversial?

The hypothetical confession format

• The book presents an account of the murders using a hypothetical “if I did it” framework, widely criticized as a thinly veiled confession (CBS News).
• Ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves conducted interviews with Simpson to produce the manuscript (Wikipedia).
• Simpson later claimed most of the manuscript was written by Fenjves and maintained his innocence (CBS News).

Legal battle over book rights

• The Goldman family won the rights to the book in 2007 through a federal bankruptcy court to satisfy the $38 million wrongful death judgment (CBS News).
• A California judge ordered the rights auctioned before Simpson’s shell corporation Lorraine Brooke Associates could shield the proceeds (Wikipedia).
• The Brown family opposed the Goldmans’ dominance and sought equal creditor status (CBS News).

The implication: The controversy never faded because the book forced a public reckoning with whether a hypothetical confession counts as an admission at all.

How Much Time Did OJ Actually Serve?

Criminal trial acquittal

• Simpson was acquitted of all criminal charges in the 1995 murder trial (CBS News).
• The jury reached a verdict on October 3, 1995, after less than four hours of deliberation (Wikipedia).

Civil liability and later prison sentence

• In 1997, a civil court found Simpson liable for the wrongful deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, ordering $33.5 million in damages (Shortform).
• In 2008, Simpson was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas and sentenced to 33 years (Wikipedia).
• He served 9 years and was released on parole in 2017 (CBS News).

The implication: Simpson never served a day for the murders, but his later criminal sentence and the civil judgment ensured he spent years in prison and lost control of his book profits.

Was There DNA in the OJ Glove?

DNA evidence presented at trial

• Forensic tests found DNA from both victims — Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman — on a blood-stained glove recovered at Simpson’s estate (Wikipedia).
• The glove also contained Simpson’s own DNA (CBS News).

Glove contamination and chain of custody

• The defense argued the glove evidence was contaminated and questioned the chain of custody (Shortform).
• Blood samples taken from the crime scene also faced scrutiny over handling procedures (Wikipedia).

The catch: While DNA linked Simpson to the glove, the defense’s positioning of contamination and the glove’s poor fit in court created enough doubt for the jury.

The pattern: DNA could place Simpson at the scene, but procedural missteps gave the jury a reason to look past it.

Why Didn’t the Glove Fit OJ?

Famous courtroom demonstration

• Simpson tried on the gloves in court, and they appeared too small (CBS News).
• The prosecution argued the gloves should have been worn over latex gloves, which would have allowed a proper fit (Wikipedia).

Glove shrinkage and handling

• Gloves may have shrunk after being soaked with blood and stored improperly (Shortform).
• The demonstration became a pivotal moment, with defense attorney Johnnie Cochran memorably declaring, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” (Wikipedia).

The trade-off: The glove stunt delivered a dramatic visual that undermined the forensic evidence, showing how courtroom theatrics can outweigh science in a jury’s mind.

Do People Still Think OJ Was Innocent?

Polls and public opinion over time

• Polls consistently show a racial divide: a majority of Black Americans believe Simpson may have been innocent, while most white Americans believe he was guilty (Shortform).
• His death in 2024 reignited discussions, with many revisiting the book as a tacit admission (CBS News).

Racial divide in perceptions

• The gap in belief of innocence is tied to broader distrust of the criminal justice system (Wikipedia).
• Many observers view the book’s hypothetical confession as Simpson’s closest public admission (Shortform).

What this means: The ‘If I Did It’ book did not change minds — it became a cultural artifact that reflects the same divisions the trial exposed.

Timeline of Key Events

The sequence of events from the murders to Simpson’s death shows how the book controversy emerged years after the trial ended.

The pattern: Each legal step created a new chapter in a saga that kept the case in public view for three decades.

Perspectives on the Book

The book is nothing but a confession in disguise.

— Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman, as reported by Shortform

Simpson maintained his innocence throughout and claimed the ghostwriter wrote most of it.

— Pablo Fenjves, ghostwriter, as described by CBS News

The Goldmans used the book to raise awareness about domestic violence and to tell Ron’s story.

— Fred Goldman, in a statement covered by Shortform

For the Goldman family, the ‘If I Did It’ book represents more than a settlement — it ensures that Ron Goldman’s story continues to be told, even as the man the civil court held responsible is no longer alive to profit from it. The trade-off for the public is clear: read the book as a controversial artifact, or ignore it — but both choices keep the debate alive.

Frequently asked questions