judge lance ito retired in 2015 after serving more than 25 years on the bench.now much more racially representative of the city it polices. though far from perfect, race relations have dramatically improved between the cops and the city's black community. and we hope that that injustice will be prevented in the civil trial. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and attorney dan petrocelli moved to brentwood, not far from where oj simpson once lived. simpson's rockingham estate has been sold. the new owner demolished the house in 1998 to build a new one. and nichole's condo is still there with a remodeled exterior and a new address number, but the gawking busloads of tourists have dwindled. and as for oj himself-- we are coming on the air with breaking news. just moments ago, nbc news confirmed that oj simpson has died at the age of 76. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in april 2024, oj simpson, whose rise and fall riveted the nation died of cancer. i can't think of anyone historical or someone that we may have known where the first chapter and the second chapter of their liv

josh mankiewicz: then, another critical decision, this one made by judge lance ito, who ruled the trial. judge ito: do you have enough evidence to convict oj simpson? of course, we do. josh mankiewicz: publicly, marcia clark seemed highly confident in her case back then. the fact that the case has been filed means that we do have sufficient evidence to convict him. josh mankiewicz: but privately, as clark told us, she sensed trouble early on. right off the bat, we've got a big push back in the african-american community. they don't like this case. they don't want to believe it. there was a sense of loyalty of investment in protecting an african-american icon who had made it. he was successful. he had made it. they did not want to see him taken down. even though he'd done virtually nothing for the community he'd come from? it was surprising. virtually nothing. this was not exactly your civil rights firebrand. and as he was quoted famously saying, i'm not black. i'm oj. josh mankiewicz: still, clark says she was convinced a strong case could be built primarily on the blood and dna evidenc