After the prosecution blew the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson, a civil jury found him responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. The $33.5 million verdict has been largely unsatisfied, with the amount due growing to more than $100 million with the accumulation of statutory interest.
Now that Simpson is dead, the executor of his estate will oppose any effort by the families of his victims to secure payment.
Via ESPN.com, Simpson’s will was filed in a Nevada court on Friday. The document shows his property was placed into a trust created earlier this year.
Attorney Malcolm LaVergne, who has represented Simpson since 2009, is the executor of Simpson’s estate. LaVergne told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he hopes to keep Ron Goldman’s family from getting anything.
“It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing,” LaVergne said. “Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”
Hey LaVergne, your deceased client made Ron Goldman deceased. The kid was 25 when Simpson butchered him for simply being in the worst possible place at the worst possible time.
It’s shameful, in my opinion, for LaVergne to conduct himself this way. His deceased client did it, in the eyes of the civil justice system. He had a longstanding debt that was barely satisfied.
It’s one thing for LaVergne to discreetly wish to keep the Goldmans from collecting. Saying it out loud makes it far worse. It underscores the lack of contrition that Simpson had.
Simpson got to die a natural death. Ron Goldman did not. The justice system spoke, loudly and clearly. This malice toward the family of one of Simpson’s victims is significant, and it should be attributed directly to Simpson.
In his final days, as he knew his end was coming, Simpson opted not for reconciliation but retribution. His will and the trust that was created earlier this year are the apparent tools of that. And LaVergne seems to be ready to swing the hammer.
Are you paying attention, Pro Football Hall of Fame? Hopefully someone on the group’s Board of Trustees will see LaVergne’s words and initiate an appropriate response.