Defense lawyers Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran made the charges in separate meetings with the media after the prosecution said it would not proceed with 18 of 61 allegations of abuse by Simpson against his slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, which were contained in a prosecution document made public Wednesday.
"I just don't think it's the proper way to try to gather public opinion," Shapiro said. "They come in one day and make outrageous allegations and withdraw it the next." Cochran accused prosecutors of smearing Simpson's reputation because their case against him is weak.
The prosecution later denied having withdrawn the charges. "This is not character assassination," Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden said. "What you heard so far is nothing more than O.J. Simpson's life. This is his character, his behavior. It has come back to haunt him. It is not our fault."
The list showed 61 alleged incidents of domestic violence portraying Simpson as a batterer who physically and verbally abused his ex-wife for 17 years.
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