Inside the mind of OJ Simpson

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    OJ Simpson set to take stand in bid for freedom

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    OJ Simpson seeks retrial in 2008 robbery case

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    OJ Simpson heads to court to seek new trial in robbery case

In 1995 O.J. Simpson, the football superstar affectionately nicknamed "the Juice" found himself as the defendant in "The Trial of the Century". The charge: First degree murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. At the time it was the biggest trial in U.S. history, and arguably remains so today, right up there with Casey Anthony and Jodi Arias.

OJ Simpson was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. As a child he developed rickets and had to wear braces on his legs until he was five. He lived in the projects, belonged to a gang and served a brief stint in jail.

In high school he excelled in football, and received a  Junior College scholarship, which paved the way for him to enroll at USC. There, he was twice named an All-American, and awarded the Heisman trophy.

O.J. Simpson always believed that the normal rules of society did not apply to him.

He set numerous records in the NFL, and is still one of the most famous running backs in the history of football.

O.J. Simpson was an athlete who came from nothing and created an empire. It wasn't given to him -- he worked hard for it and earned it.

He was looked up to, in fact worshipped, by millions. He broke many racial barriers and was loved by all.

When he retired from the NFL he was at the top of his game, an icon, and began acting in both television and movies. Whatever he wanted, he got and he had no trouble showing it off. He had the Heisman, the big mansion and more money than he knew what to do with. His every whim was catered to wherever he went.

O.J. was living a great life, and was a married man when he met 17-year-old Nicole Brown. He soon divorced his wife and married the beautiful Nicole, but it wasn't long before trouble began brewing.

Nicole kept a diary, describing the anger, the hitting, the kicking, the fighting. She had photos of her injuries and she also had witnesses.

When she filed for divorce, the stalking began. She wrote that she was extremely frightened that he would carry out his threats to kill her, and that he had become a monster.

Yet, nothing was done and he continued to stalk and harass, wherever she went.

This is when we get our first glimpse inside the mind of O.J. It’s a very simple analysis. He was an abuser of the worst kind, one with money, power and fame. Nicole was not a wife, but rather a possession like the big L.A. mansion, the Heisman trophy and the NFL records.

He expected her to cater to him like an adoring fan and when she did not, he became furious.

While he was still married to Nicole he was living a wild, single life. He wanted her to excuse his indiscretions-- something she did up to a point.

Finally, she wrote OJ a letter  that she was through with the abuse, through with the cheating, and wanted a new life. OJ just could not accept that. HE could walk away from someone, but no one was going to walk away from him.

The abuser mindset is all about power and control over another person, usually a love interest. The abuser often has a fear they are not good enough and use psychological insults and isolation to gain control.

This starts the cycle leading to verbal and then physical abuse. At some point the abuser realizes he is losing his possession and the mindset kicks in: "Well, if I can't have her no one else will.”

In the end, Nicole's fear was realized.  Her throat was slashed, and she and Goldman were brutally stabbed repeatedly.

The O.J. mindset is one of an abuser coupled with that of an entitled celebrity. He was “the Juice,” the beloved O.J. and Nicole belonged to him. 

The normal rules of society did not apply to him; he could do what he wanted, when he wanted and there would always be an adoring public to have his back. 

There were always women more than ready to jump in bed with him and men who wanted to be his friends. 

O.J. was a suspect in his ex-wife’s murder. His trial, which was presided over by Judge Lance Ito, lasted nine months, but was deliberated by the jury for only four hours. 

O.J. was found not guilty. 

Reactions to the verdict split along racial lines-- blacks for the most part celebrated and whites, formerly his biggest supporters, felt Simpson got away with murder. But let's not forget, even though he was found not guilty, he was later found liable for civil damages to the tune of $33.5 million.

This and the legal fees from his two trials wrecked his financial empire and brought his playhouse tumbling down.

So, what’s a superstar celebrity to do when he’s lost everything? In OJ’s case it lead to stealing sports memorabilia he had signed years before. He needed the money and it didn't matter that the property was owned by another-- his autograph was on the merchandise and therefore he wanted it. It was really his, right? After all he was “the Juice.”

The jury didn't see it that way, and O.J. was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping- sentenced to spend 9-to-33 years in prison. 

For the majority of Americans, who believe he got away with murder, this was considered the ultimate payback for killing his ex-wife and her friend. 

Now O.J. is attempting to get that guilty verdict reversed with a new trial. He says he didn't have adequate representation -- placing the blame (of course) on somebody else -- his lawyer at the time. We will find soon find out if OJ is granted a new trial. 

It's all or nothing for O.J. with this move, but if his wish is granted you can bet this trial will be a media circus just like the first one. If another trial is granted, it will be O.J.'s Hail Mary pass, a last ditch effort to get out of prison before he is an old, old man.

Dr. Dale Archer is a psychiatrist and frequent guest on "FoxNews.com Live." For more, visit his website: Dr.DaleArcher.com.

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Inside the mind of Dr. Kermit Gosnell

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Kermit Gosnell, MD, the late-term abortion champion who also cut the spines of living infants, has now been convicted of multiple infanticides.  With that, he becomes the latest true-life incarnation of Robert Louis Stephenson’s fictional Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Gosnell has performed good works in his life, including delivering substance abuse services to needy communities.  

But the healing professions can attract men and women desperately seeking to distance themselves from opposite, destructive impulses that, ultimately, overtake them.

Such was the case for Jonathan Kappler, M.D., a California anesthesiologist whom many patients described as a caring physician, but who, in 1990, aimed his car at my friend Paul Mendelsohn, accelerated to 60 miles per hour, struck and killed him.  The two men had never met.  Kappler was convicted of murder.

Psychologically dead people kill other people—psychologically or physically or both—then often extinguish themselves, too.

Such was also the case for Richard Sharpe, the cross-dressing, Harvard dermatologist who shot his wife to death, and in whose trial I testified as an expert witness.

Both Kappler and Sharpe had lived through childhoods of abuse and deprivation, had excelled in many ways, had attempted to channel their energies in healing directions and ended their lives as killers.  Both men ultimately committed suicide in prison.

The truth always wins. Psychologically dead people kill other people—psychologically or physically or both—then often extinguish themselves, too. I share these hard-won insights with you, because they are a burden to carry alone.  I tell you these things because I know them to be true.

Such was also the case, by the way, for euthanasia doctor Jack Kevorkian, who reported assisting in the suicides of numerous people who were not terminally ill and who once advocated allowing prisoners in jails to be anesthetized and have medical experimentation performed upon them prior to execution.  Kevorkian was, ultimately, convicted of second-degree murder.  He got off light.

Kermit Gosnell likely also attempted to subjugate the destructive, murderous psychological demons inhabiting him by harnessing himself to their opposite—obstetrics, which is, by definition, concerned with delivering new life.  

Having completed my own rotation in obstetrics as a medical student at Johns Hopkins, I know there were many moments that might have quelled the seeds of horrific violence deep in Gosnell: every newborn’s first cry; every mother’s first embrace of her son or daughter; and, sadly, every grief-stricken parent whose great hopes for bringing new life into the world end too soon.

It wasn’t enough. And it really never is.

 Those who run from their murderous impulses can never run fast enough or far enough.  The only antidote is facing them, sharing them with a true healer, understanding their origins and then vanquishing them.  

Whatever psychological death Kermit Gosnell suffered as a boy manifested itself inside him as a man, projected onto babies who were born with unlimited potential, but met the horror of someone, ultimately, more given to extinguishing that potential than preserving it.  They met Mr. Hyde.

When Gosnell snipped the spines of newborns, murdering them, I doubt very much that he felt a rush of adrenaline or a wave of sadness. 

I would bet, based on my nearly twenty years as a forensic psychiatrist, that he felt, precisely, nothing—a familiar silence that echoed his own buried memories of having been extinguished, in his empathy, long ago, through events secreted away, never confronted and turned rancid, underground.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com.

Dr. Keith Ablow

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Sheriff says Ga. toddler killed by 7 dogs in yard as mother, other adults were inside house

ELLABELL, Ga. –  A toddler who slipped outside through a doggie door was mauled to death by her family's seven dogs in the backyard while the attack went unnoticed by child's mother and other relatives inside their home, a southeast Georgia sheriff said Thursday.

Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said the child's grandmother told investigators she was lying in bed when she heard the pit bulls and pit bull mixes barking, and she looked outside her window to see them dragging the girl. Smith said she began yelling, "They're killing Monica!"

It was too late. Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned 2 years old June 1, was dead by the time an ambulance arrived Wednesday evening. Animal control officers used drugs to euthanize the dogs at the home on a rural road in tiny Ellabell, about 30 miles west of Savannah. Deputies found the girl's shoes, diaper and shredded clothing scattered across the fenced-in yard, Smith said.

"They had dragged the child all over the yard and chewed her and chewed her," Smith said. "They tore her clothes all up."

The toddler lived in a modest, two-story house tucked away from the main road. The sheriff said four generations of the same family shared the home, including the child's 18-year-old mother, grandparents and two uncles who are still young boys.

The girl's grandmother, Michelle McIntyre, sat weeping on the tailgate of a pickup outside the home Thursday. Summer Laminack, the child's mother, sat next to her staring silently at the ground.

"She's in shock," Barbara Brauda, a friend who was visiting the family, told The Associated Press before a man approached and asked a reporter to leave the property. "She hasn't been doing a whole lot of crying because she's still numb."

The sheriff said at least three adult relatives were inside the home when the dogs killed the girl outside. No criminal charges had been filed Thursday. Smith said he expects charges will be brought after he's had a chance to discuss the case with the district attorney and the girl's family has been given time to hold her funeral.

"I can see child neglect at the very minimum," Smith said.

Relatives told investigators the dogs that mauled the child were essentially family pets — a mother dog and six offspring from a litter she had about 16 months ago, the sheriff said.

The dogs had their own doggie doors that let them come in and out of the house as they pleased. The family told deputies the dogs had never attacked a person, though one of them might have killed a cat, Smith said. He said relatives insisted the toddler would play with the dogs and even "use them as pillows while watching TV."

Smith said the dogs looked healthy and well-fed, and investigators found no signs they were being used as fighting dogs by their owners.

"They said they have never been aggressive to other people," he said. "Why they got started I have no idea."

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Marmalade maverick: A peak inside Sarabeth's kitchen

Her world-renowned orange-apricot marmalade is so good, fans are known to consume half a jar just sitting in front of the TV. But why stop at jam?

Sarabeth Levine knew once her famous marmalade went viral, she had to do more.

“It’s like that book, ‘When you give a pig a pancake, he’s going to ask for maple syrup.’ Well, when you give them jams and beautiful baked goods, they want breakfast and after breakfast, you need a restaurant,” Levine told Foxnews.com’s Kitchen Superstars.

And so Sarabeth’s was born – the first restaurant opened in New York City in 1985 and now there are ten Sarabeth’s restaurants across New York, New Jersey, in the Florida Keys and even a new location in Tokyo.

Sarabeth’s restaurants are known for serving comfort food, with a focus on breakfast.

“I think I put breakfast on the map,” said Levine. “People weren’t making breakfast 30 years ago the way I made breakfast – oatmeal in a double boiler, Popeye eggs. It moved into lunch and dinners, and dinners are like this well-kept secret. People don’t realize that we make great dinner.”

But nothing is better than her orange-apricot marmalade, which has won several awards (and the praise of notorious food critic Gael Greene). The marmalade is made with fresh, hand-cut oranges and tiny pieces of orange peel.

“It’s not overly sweet,” Levine said. “This is my favorite thing on the planet.”

Though Levine is almost 70-years-old, she has no plans to slow down. She and her husband Bill, who also acts as her business partner, are constantly looking for ways to keep evolving and creating.

“My mother always said, ‘don’t stop moving. Once you stop moving, you’re finished.’ And I think about that,” Levine said. “I don’t feel 70. I’m faster than half the people here.”

Don’t fret if you don’t live near a Sarabeth’s restaurant. Her marmalade, and 14 other flavors of marmalade and preserves, is available for purchase through her online store, along with cookies, cakes and Sarabeth’s famous tomato soup.

Levine is busy expanding her online product empire and is now working on a pancake mix to share with the public. Her recipes can also be found in her cookbook, Sarabeth’s Bakery, From My Hands to Yours.

“We have this line we once said: If Sarabeth were your mother, you’d come home for dinner every night.”

View the original article here