O. J. Simpson, who stands accused of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Coleman, is perhaps the most famous figure to be indicted for murder in the 20th century.
Americans have seen O.J. Simpson in so many different venues -- as a television sportscaster, as a rental car pitchman, in movies like "The Naked Gun" and of course, as one of professional football's greatest players -- that I would bet many people almost feel as if they know O.J. personally.
It's for this reason, in fact, that I have always thought O.J. would make a great morning talk show host; he has that pleasant, relaxed demeanor and inherent friendliness that make people like Regis Philbin or Katie Couric so enjoyable to watch. He seems decent, honest and unpretentious.
I think many of the people who are having such a hard time dealing with this case -- and who are so fascinated with it -- are reacting to the situation a lot like they would if one of their best friends was accused of murder.
They deny even the possibility of the allegation being true. "It's impossible," they might say, "that O.J. would do something like that. He's just not that type of person."
And so, in Los Angeles, on the first day of the preliminary hearings, many people, most of whom undoubtedly had never met Simpson in person, gathered outside the courtroom holding signs saying "Free O.J." or "O.J. Is Innocent" and wearing t-shirts bearing phrases like "Let The Juice Loose."
It is because of this public love for Simpson that one of the many - unanswered questions surrounding the case -- the question of whether or not the Los Angeles prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Simpson -- will undoubtedly raise emotions (and probably even more support for O.J.) across the nation.
I do not support the death penalty on either moral grounds (I simply do not believe any person or government has the right to take away another human being's life) or legal grounds (the possibility of killing an innocent man is ever present).
And yet, I sincerely hope the Los Angeles prosecutors seek the death penalty for O.J. Simpson.
If they do, it won't be the first time the death penalty has been given to a well known figure; the incessant media images of Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, for example, have given most Americans the chance to connect the concept of the death penalty to a familiar face.
This time though, the face people will be associating with the death penalty will be one they know and like a great deal.
And I get the strong sense that most people, even if they were convinced of O.J.'s guilt and were ardent supporters of the death penalty, would not want him executed.
If O.J. Simpson is guilty however, he is no different from the scores of people who have been sentenced to death for the act of murder. It is this fact which every supporter of O.J. Simpson and every supporter of the death penalty must confront and address.
And so, as I follow this sad and unfortunate case, I maintain hope that the prosecutors will find the bravery to seek the death penalty.
Perhaps then people will call into question their own views on the issue and come to the conclusion that O.J. Simpson is not special; that he is a human being, just as Bundy or Gacy and the dozens of others who have been executed were human beings.
Maybe then, when the death penalty is apllied to not just a human face, but a smiling, friendly and quite familiar one as well, people will realize that this form of punishment is not what's it's cracked up to be.
When it comes down to it, the death penalty addresses a crime by committing one and ending a human life -- be it the life of a television celebrity or an unemployed street bum -- and deep in our hearts we know that the mercy of life imprisonment makes a lot more sense.
