European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday june 23, 1994 . Simpson the stars and stripes Page 5 insanity defense possible tactic would link mental illness to 2 slayings of. Simpsons attorney Robert Shapiro is mobbed by cameras monday As he Heads to a hearing in the murder Case in los Angeles. Los Angeles apr was . Simpson insane Simpsons attorney has refused to Rule out an insanity defense even though the football Hall of Fame member has insisted that he did no to kill his sex wife and her Friend. Legal experts said tuesday that if Simpson pleads innocent by reason of insanity a jury would have to be convinced that he was mentally ill and that his illness robbed him of the ability to distinguish Between right and wrong. If jurors agree Simpson would be sent to a mental institution with a Chanee of being released with no criminal record if doctors deem him cured. A it would give or Simpson the Opportunity of getting Back into the Community and getting on with his life a said Peter Arenella a Law professor at the University of California los Angeles. Simpson 46, pleaded innocent monday to first degree murder charges in the knife slayings of his second sex wife Nicole Brown Simpson 35, and Ronald Goldman 25. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty. A Simpsons attorney Robert Shapiro has said Simpson was at his Home two Miles away at the time of the killings. But he also said he would consider an insanity plea. A every possible defense has to be considered by a trial lawyer and i. Certainly would Reserve All possibilities a Shapiro said monday. District attorney Gil Garcetti has said he would not be surprised if Simpson admitted to the killings but claimed he was not responsible. Another strategy that defense attorneys could pursue would be to show that Simpson lacked the criminal intent required to be guilty of murder Arenella said. A that he was so emotionally upset confused and de pressed Over the failure to get Back together with his sex wife that he snapped and that he May not have been conscious at the time of the crime a he said. That would be similar to the defense of diminished capacity a used by Dan White to win acquittal in the 197s shooting deaths of san Francisco supervisor Harvey milk and mayor George mos conc. White claimed that twinkies and other junk food blurred his judgment. Angry voters abolished the diminished capacity defense 12 years ago in the Wake of White s acquittal. But a it still surfaces in a Covert form in California courtrooms a Arenella said. Defense attorneys Are allowed to present evidence that a defendant lacks the mental ability to form criminal intent he said. Simpsons attorneys also could claim that the killings were committed in the heat of passion but that would Only lower the conviction to second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The maximum sentence for second degree murder is 15 years to life. Voluntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 11 years. To prove the killings were committed in the heat of Assion the defense would have to show that Simpson asked out because he was provoked by the victims. A a it a not enough that . Got provoked. It also has to be that a reasonable person it the same situation would react this Way a said Laurie Levinson a professor at the Loyola school of Law. Deputy District attorney Marcia Clark assigned to prosecute the Case dismissed any notion that the killings were an act of passion. A it was premeditated murder a Clark said. A it was done with deliberation and premeditation. That is precisely what he is charged with because that is what we will  i by news Day los Angeles in the trendy los Angeles neighbourhood of Brentwood Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were a striking pair. They ate dinner together at restaurants such As the California pizza Kitchen or cps where Goldman had once worked As a waiter. They tooled around town in her White Ferrari with the vanity plates l84ad8 a late for a Date. She had Money and Beauty and As the sex wife of . Simpson retained a celebrity status. He was Tali and handsome a part time Model just 25 years old. A a few weeks ago i waited on them when they came into cps a said one Friend of Goldman a who asked not to be identified. A the introduced her to me As the sex mrs. Simpson. When she got up to go somewhere i asked if that was of and he said they were just  but to another Friend Barry Zeldes owner of a menus store where , Simpson shopped the z 90049 next to cps Goldman told another Story a i asked him was t he scared of being caught in the Ferrari with Nicole a Zeldes said. A the said that a Why he was not fooling around with her. He said he . Simpson would probably kill him for driving around in the Ferrari let alone sleeping with  but Zeldes 1c Simpson said Goldman stressed that he was just being cautious and had no personal reason to be scared of Simpson. Mostly he told Zeldes he just enjoyed being with Nicole Simpson. A i think there was a Good Friendship there and maybe Romance in the future a Zeldes said of their relationship. A i think he was excited to be running around with a Beautiful woman who was married to a famous athlete Star. A they ran around to bars and restaurants together him driving the Ferrari and her sitting beside  on the night of june 12, Goldman was waiting tables at another upscale Brentwood restaurant me Zaluna where Nicole Simpson 35, had dinner with a group of friends. According to los Angeles police she left behind a pair of sunglasses which Goldman returned to her Brentwood condominium. There both were murdered a according to police by a knife wielding Simpson. At his arraignment in a los Angeles courtroom monday Simpson pleaded innocent. Friends say Goldman who was raised in Chicago and moved to los Angeles in Goldman 1987, met Nicole Simpson last month and the two began working out together at a local fitness club the gym and dancing at the Gate nightclub. Jodi Kahn 32, a Friend of Goldman a who worked in Theodore a a clothing store near cps said that last Christmas , Simpson came into the clothing store a we were rapping at the counter a she recalled and she asked him about his social life. A the said a really there is no one i want to Date. I am trying to get together with my  a there was no reconciliation and a few months later she and Goldman were enjoying the Brentwood night life. But their friends said their relationship was strictly platonic. A while Nicole Simpson could afford the High life Goldman struggled on a waiters wages. She lived in a $600,000 Brentwood Condo. He lived nearby in a tiny one bedroom apartment friends said. �?o1 think he was a Playboy to her a Zeldes said. A the was Good looking and did no to have  tuned in to Highway Odyssey los Angeles apr . Lied and America watched. Simpsons flight along 60 Miles of Southern californians freeways broadcast live for various periods Friday night by the three major networks and can Drew an average 95 million viewers lbs senior ratings analyst David Poltrack said tuesday. A some of the coverage was watched by 67 percent of All households or 63 million Homes a he said. Poltrack based his estimate on overnight figures for All network and Independent stations in major markets. Figures released tuesday by Nielsen Media research were somewhat lower than Poltrack a because they excluded can and Independent stations. Abc and lbs each airing about two hour live reports on Simpson together Drew a 30.5 average rating Nielsen said. That a about 28.7 million households or 71.8 million viewers. Adding a 22-minute Abc report to the mix the three networks had about a 3s average a representing about 89.5 million viewers. Each ratings Point represents 942,000 households a household is about 2.5 people. For the 24-hour Friday period can averaged its highest ratings since Clarence Thomas 1991 confirmation hearing for the . Supreme court. Simpson disappeared Friday after being charged with murdering his second sex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her Friend Ronald Goldman about five hours later he was spotted on a freeway Riding in a White Ford Bronco driven by a Friend. As police trailed Simpson to his mansion without making any attempt to arrest him More and More of the nation tuned in. The total audience nearly matched the viewership of. The Start of the persian Gulf War on Jan. 16, 1991, Ray Macnea the viewership Gulf War on Jan. 16, 195 when 118 million people were watching Poltrack said. The Overall to audience for Simpson coverage was undoubtedly even larger than indicated by the ratings which count Only Home viewership Poltrack said. Because the Aba finals aired on Abc on Friday night Many people who went to bars to see the game ended up watching Simpson instead. Abc Cut in on the kicks rockets game several times with live of the Chase. A i v?1 1 a a or f it w a a a a a a. % i i a  J a. A v., a a a a a a a. The estimated number of television viewers who watched Start of 118 ill Tom per too out or people  of Sam Poon my 95 million people j j t a t a 1 of a 4 Ltd it -i1 coverage 11 Jil o s&5 Peter Jaeger