Officials from the Sacramento County, Calif., Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday they will auction off the publication rights to O. J. Simpson's controversial book "If I Did It" on April 17, according to Reuters.
A Los Angeles judge ordered Sacramento County to put the book's publication rights up for auction in order to help satisfy $33.5 million in damages the former National Football League star was forced to pay after losing a 1997 civil case brought by the relatives of Ron Goldman and ex-wife Nicole Brown. Simpson was accused of murdering Brown and Goldman in 1994, but was acquitted of the charges in 1995 following a highly publicized trial. Simpson vowed never to pay the damages to Brown and Goldman's relatives voluntarily, Reuters reported.
"If I Did It," which was announced for publication last year by News Corp.-owned HarperCollins, details what Simpson believes might have happened if he had actually murdered Brown and Goldman. Simpson has always publicly denied committing the murders, according to Reuters.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch cancelled plans to publish the book and broadcast an interview on Fox in November amid increasingly vocal public opposition to the idea, Reuters reported.
