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Last night's not guilty verdict for
George Zimmerman ended his emotional and highly publicized trial over the
tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Here’s how life shook out for a few
other acquitted defendants in high-profile trials.
1.
Lizzie Borden
Although 32-year-old Lizzie Borden
was never convicted of the 1892 ax murder of her father and stepmother, her
highly publicized trial followed her for the remaining 34 years of her life.
Borden became close friends with actress Nance O’Neill, but she lived out the
rest of her life as a recluse. Although Borden remained largely out of public
sight, mourners at her 1927 funeral remembered her as a quiet source of
charitable donations. Her will certainly demonstrated her charitable streak;
the largest earmark from her substantial estate was a $30,000 donation to the
local Animal Rescue League.
2.
Fatty Arbuckle
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Silent film actor and comedian
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was one of the biggest stars in the medium’s early
days, but his career flew off the rails in 1921. Actress Virginia Rappe fell
ill at a party thrown by Arbuckle and died several days later, and the rotund
funnyman found himself facing accusations of raping and killing the young
woman. Arbuckle weathered two mistrials for manslaughter before being found not
guilty in a third trial.
The trial may have legally cleared
Arbuckle’s name, but the scandal all but destroyed his Hollywood career.
Hollywood briefly blacklisted Arbuckle entirely, but even after the ban was
ostensibly lifted he couldn’t find work. Meanwhile, his existing films were
rarely shown. (Many prints of Arbuckle’s films have been lost.) Arbuckle
eventually found work directing comedy shorts under a pseudonym before making
an acting comeback with Warner Brothers in 1932. In 1933 he signed a contract to
make a new feature film, but he died in his sleep the very same night.
3.
O.J. Simpson
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The beneficiary of one of history’s
most famous not-guilty verdicts saw his legal luck run out after a 2007 armed
robbery in Las Vegas. Simpson was convicted on 10 charges related to an attempt
to regain some of his sports memorabilia, and he’s currently serving a 33-year
sentence in Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Center.
4.
Sam Sheppard
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Sheppard, a Cleveland-area physician
(center), was convicted of the 1954 murder of his pregnant wife in their
suburban home. Sheppard spent nearly a decade behind bars before a 1966 retrial
acquitted him. After a brief attempt to return to medicine following his
release from prison, Sheppard found an unlikely second career as a professional
wrestler who went by the name The Killer before his death in 1970.
5.
Claus von Bulow
In 1982 British socialite von Bulow
was convicted of attempting to murder his heiress wife, Sunny, with an insulin
overdose. However, this conviction was later overturned, and he was found not
guilty in a 1985 retrial. (Jeremy Irons won an Academy Award for Best Actor for
his portrayal of von Bulow in 1990’s Reversal of Fortune.) In 1991 von
Bulow returned to London, where he worked as an art and theatre critic. British
newspaper The Telegraph ran his blog posts as recently as last spring.
6.
William Kennedy Smith
© Lannis Waters/Sygma/Corbis
The physician nephew of John F.
Kennedy was accused of rape in 1991, but a jury acquitted him after a hugely
hyped trial. Kennedy still practices medicine; he founded the Center for
International Rehabilitation and works with patients who have been disabled by
landmines.
7.
Robert Blake
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The Baretta star was acquitted for
the 2001 murder of his wife in 2005, but like Simpson, he was found liable for
the death in a civil trial. The 2005 civil verdict awarded $30 million to his
wife’s children, and in 2006 he filed for bankruptcy listing the eight-figure
judgment as his biggest liability. Blake hasn’t yet returned to acting to fill
out his bank balances, but as of earlier this year he was making
autograph-signing appearances at memorabilia shows.
8.
John T. Scopes
Scopes, the Tennessee schoolteacher
who famously went to trial in 1925, was initially convicted of violating the
state’s prohibition of the teaching of evolution and fined $100. However, his
conviction was later overruled because the trial judge had set the fine rather
than the jury. Following this decision, Scopes left Tennessee to pursue
graduate studies in geology at the University of Chicago. He spent the rest of
his life working as a geologist for oil and gas companies.
9.
Casey Anthony
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In 2011, Anthony was found not
guilty in the death of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. Anthony has kept a
low profile since her trial. Earlier this year, she filed for bankruptcy, listing $1,084 in personal
property and $792,119.23 in liabilities
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