Why O.J. Simpson Won't Face Murder Charges Again, Despite the Knife or Any Other New Evidence

Controversial star is protected by double-jeopardy

By Kendall Fisher Mar 04, 2016 9:52 PMTags
OJ Simpson, Booking Photo, Mug ShotCourtesy of Clark County Detention Center

If you're one of the many people who followed the O.J. Simpson trial in the '90s or simply have been addicted to keeping up with American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson (or both!),  today definitely brought your world to a roaring halt when you heard about...the knife.

As we reported earlier, Los Angeles police say a knife was recovered on a property once owned by the former football player. It is currently in the process of being tested to see if it has a connection to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, more than 20 years after O.J. was acquitted of the killings.

BEI/Shutterstock

However, this will have no real impact on O.J. himself as he cannot be tried again for the murder. Why? Due to a little thing we call double-jeopardy.

Criminal Defense Attorney Troy Slaten tells E! News, "Nobody can be tried twice for the same crime. O.J. was found Not Guilty of murder, so that is the end of the story for him...The U.S. constitution prohibits the government from trying somebody twice for the same crime. So even if we find new, incontrovertible evidence that proves his guilt, 100 percent, he cannot be tried again, and the federal government cannot try him either."

Ron Galella/WireImage

Slaten explains a second impediment: "He also can't be tried for any lesser crimes, like Assault with a Deadly Weapon, because the statute of limitations has long passed."

Since the crimes occurred in 1994, more than 20 years ago, the eligibility for him to be put on the stand again has expired.

However, there's still the chance that someone else's fingerprints are found in the process of the knife being tested, and thus, the investigation continues...

—Reporting by Baker Machado