Ronald Goldman's father and sister said they decided to publish O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" because they view the book as proof the ex-football star killed their loved one.
"It is not a manual for murder," Ronald Goldman's father Fred told CTV's Canada AM. "But instead we view it as a confession."
The Goldman family was initially against the publication of O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" when it was revealed the book was going to be published by HarperCollins in November last year.
Amid widespread opposition, HarperCollins eventually decided not to publish the ghostwritten and hypothetical book of how Simpson would have murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of the killings in 1995.
A federal bankruptcy judge awarded the rights of the book to the Goldman family earlier this year because of their US$38-million wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson.
"The whole issue of him making money was disgusting to us and we wanted to see that come to an end," Fred Goldman said. "At the time we didn't know the contents of the book and we were concerned at what it might contain and whether it would be a manual for murder."
Goldman said he changed his mind about the publication of "If I Did It" when he learned Simpson would not earn money from the book and after he had reviewed its contents.
The Goldman family has retitled the book. "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer," maintaining the original manuscript and adding a chapter of their own. The book is being published by Beaufort Books, a small publisher based in New York.
"This book really does turn the killers' words on himself," said Ronald Goldman's sister Kim. "We didn't really have a choice other than to publish this book. It was going to be published as an asset of the bankruptcy court. We just decided to be a part of it so that we can maintain some dignity and honour and integrity for Ron and Nicole."
But the Goldmans have been criticized for their decision to publish the book. Nicole Simpson's sister Denise Brown said the family is being hypocritical in changing their minds about publishing the book.
"We were both on the same page originally when all this stuff started," Denise Brown told CTV's Canada AM. "We rallied the whole country on (the fact) this book should never see the light of day. Fred said 'It's despicable, it's garbage. Nobody should ever buy it, nobody should ever read it.'"
On Thursday, Brown refused to appear on The Oprah Winfrey show with the Goldman family.
"Here we have a man who Fred believes murdered his son, (that) I believe murdered my sister and we are reading his words, we are reading his work," Brown said. "...He's a sick individual. And then Fred adds 14,000 words to the same book that he believes the guy who murdered his son (wrote). To me it's just so far out there. It just makes me sick."
But Kim Goldman said that Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson's children were aware of the existence of the book in March 2006. Goldman said the Brown family was in the position to make millions of dollars from the original deal for the book and this knowledge factored into the decision to publish "If I Did It."
"We felt you know what? We're going to do what we need to do to protect our family and Ron's memory," Kim Goldman said. "We extend a plethora of sympathy towards the Browns but this is our course of action that we feel strongly to take," said
Kim Goldman is pleased with the characterization of her brother who she said is "portrayed as a hero."
But Denise Brown said her sister's portrayal as a drug addict and as being abusive to O.J. Simpson is inaccurate.
The book's ghostwriter Pablo Fennjves said the book was written after extensive discussions with Simpson.
But O.J. Simpson maintains his innocence in the 1994 killings and insists he had very little to do with the writing of the book.
With files from The Associated Press
