O.J. Simpson is dead, but that shouldn't change how he's talked about - Alexander Brown

The death of O.J. Simpson is “no great loss”, according to the father of a man the former NFL star and actor was acquitted of killing

O.J. Simpson has died “surrounded by his children and grandchildren”, a luxury not afforded to Nicole Brown.

Dying at 76, at home in Las Vegas, Simpson went in a way few could argue he deserved – peacefully, with loved ones, and having enjoyed decades more than the partner he stalked, hit and was accused of killing.

I say accused, because, of course, Simpson was acquitted after being charged with the murders of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, a waiter, who were stabbed to death. Five days before she was murdered, Brown, a waitress, had contacted a domestic violence shelter to ask if they could help her escape. She had kept evidence of abuse for years, with photos of her injuries, as well as letters from Simpson admitting to beating her. Police were called to the house repeatedly. Brown told people she was scared Simpson would kill her.

OJ Simpson died of cancer at the age of 76.

This part of the evidence, however, was inadmissible, because the judge ruled she could not be cross-examined, ensuring even in death, the state ignored her pleas for help.

The court found Simpson innocent, albeit he was later found liable for their deaths in a civil proceeding, where the former football player was ordered to pay out £26.92 million.

He did, however, get to keep living, allowing him to monetise the accusations of murder. Simpson would joke about getting away with murder in public, not only telling comedian Ruby Wax he did, but then knocking at her dressing room door and pretending to stab her when she opened the door.

If that wasn’t enough odious behaviour, he then wrote a book called “If I Did It”.

We could go into the Las Vegas hotel room heist, for which Simpson served nine years, but that misses the key point.

He was a domestic abuser, who people were warned was a domestic abuser. He got to die on his own terms, surrounded by family, albeit family forced to sign NDAs upon visiting his deathbed. Brown was stabbed seven times in the neck and head, with a severity police say almost decapitated her.

Simpson would go on to meet another teenage cocktail waitress called Christie Prody, whom he dated for 13 years. Once they broke up, she stated she often feared for her life during the relationship.

All of this makes some of the coverage of Simpson’s passing absolutely reprehensible. The New York Times, in its obituary, wrote “he ran to football fame on the field and made fortunes in movies, but his world was ruined after he was charged with killing his former wife and her friend”.

Now forgive me if I don’t put too much stock in running up and down a field, or appearing in such prestigious films as Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, but they do not matter at all.

The horrors Simpson inflicted upon women are all that matter. His death doesn’t require context, it’s not a “complicated legacy”. He beat his partners up, and paid out after they were murdered. May he rot.