Simpson Publisher Says Why She Did It

By ULA ILNYTZKY

NEW YORK (AP) - Under a barrage of criticism, Judith Regan says she
published O.J. Simpson's book ``If I Did It'' because she was a victim
of domestic violence and thought the proceeds would go to Simpson's
children.
In an eight-page statement released Friday, Regan said Simpson
approached her with the idea for the book, in which he hypothesizes how
he would have committed the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson
and her friend Ron Goldman.
``I didn't know what to expect when I got the call that the killer
wanted to confess,'' Regan said in the statement titled ``Why I Did
It.'' ``But I knew one thing. I wanted the confession for my own selfish
reasons and for the symbolism of that act. For me, it was personal.''
Although Regan has acknowledged that Simpson does not directly say he
killed the pair, she said she considers the book to be his confession.
``My son is now 25 years old, my daughter 15,'' said Regan's statement.
``I wanted them, and everyone else, to have a chance to see that there
are consequences to grievous acts. ... And I wanted, as so many victims
do, to hear him say, 'I did it and I am sorry.'''
``I didn't know if he would,'' she wrote. ``But I wanted to try. I
wanted his confession.''
Regan said she did not pay Simpson for the book. ``I contracted through
a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go to
his children. That much I could live with.''
``What I wanted was closure, not money,'' she wrote.
Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder in the 1994 slayings after a
highly charged trial. The former National Football League star was later
found liable in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family but
has failed to pay the $33.5 million judgment.
Regan said the book was a way to undo the ``criminal injustice system''
that let her own abuser go free.
She said she was abused while in her 20s by a man ``who could charm
anyone'' and with whom she had a child. ``And then he knocked me out,
with a blow to my head and sent me to the hospital,'' she said. She said
police initially didn't believe her story.
``I made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with
the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and
your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and
to amend their lives,'' she said.
``If I Did It,'' published by ReganBooks - an imprint to Harper Collins,
is scheduled for release Nov. 30. Fox is airing a two-part TV interview
of Simpson on Nov. 27 and 29. Harper Collins and Fox are owned by News
Corp.
After word of the book emerged, Regan wrote, she's watched as the media
``have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for
interviewing him.''
``To publish does not mean 'to endorse'; it means 'to make public,'''
she said.
``If you doubt that, ask the mainstream publishers who keep Adolf
Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' in print to this day. ... There is historical
value in such work ... for anyone who wants to gain insight into the
mind of a sociopath.''
AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

11/17/06 11:17 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained In this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of The Associated Press

Maybe this post should be under Jokes and funny stories. LOL

oh hll I gotta read his in the mornin its makinmy eyes all woobley

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the post makin yer eyes wobbly LOL

I'm disappointed however..I thot it was gonna be something about The
Simpsons lmao

hey it was the post I swear LMAO

hmmmmm now WHY am I NOT believing you? lmao

<throws a dust bunnie at you>

<<<<<waits several seconds for it to get close and slowly saunters outta
the way lol

waves a swiffer sheet at ya!!