April 01--In the words of Investigation Discovery group President Henry Schleiff, you can "never get enough juice" out of the murder trial of O.J. Simpson.
That's why the popular true-crime cable channel has ordered yet another program that examines the murder case of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. But this one takes a new approach that's evident in the title, "Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent."
The six-episode documentary series is in production and scheduled to premiere on ID in early 2017. It is based on the work of Dallas-based private investigator William C. Dear. He teamed with former LAPD forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie and Rhode Island police Sgt. Derrick Levasseur to re-examine the case. They claim their work comes up with a new suspect in the murders.
While Simpson was acquitted of the murders, he has been presumed guilty by a large segment of the public. The former NFL star and media personality is serving prison time for his role in a 2007 robbery in Las Vegas.
"For the first time I asked myself, 'Did O.J. really do it and is the other killer really out there?' " Schleiff said Friday in an interview on NBC's "Today." "I think people will ask themselves for the very first time to re-examine this evidence."
Martin Sheen is an executive producer of the series and also will narrate.
The 21-year-old murder case has become a cottage industry for television. The scripted FX series "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson" is one of the season's biggest and most talked-about hits and has introduced a new generation to the story that transfixed a nation in the 1990s.
In June, ESPN will launch its five-part documentary, "O.J.: Made In America," directed by Ezra Edelman. Part of ESPN's much-heralded "30 for 30" series, the program is a deep look into the racial divide created by the much-publicized trial of one of the country's most admired sports heroes and celebrities.
