While few not guilty verdicts will be remembered more than the one issued in the OJ Simpson murder trial, the most surprising acquittals include celebrities, mothers, athletes, singers and disgruntled housewives who have escaped charges when nearly everyone thought they were dead guilty. From the child molestation charges against Michael Jackson to the child murder claims against Casey Anthony to the infamous case against penis-chopper Lorena Bobbitt, each of these cases provide plenty of shock and awe, not to mention media coverage, as they played out.
Though these famous people have escaped their charges, an equally notable number have been found guilty, such as the top 8 professional athletes convicted of murder and the many rappers who've spent time in prison for one reason or another.
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Michael Jackson
Nearly 10 years after settling a civil suit alleged the same crimes, in 2003, King of Pop Michael Jackson was arrested on claims of child molestation. A 13-year-old boy, Gavin Arvizo, claimed Jackson molested him, forced him to drink alcohol and held him captive at his Neverland Ranch however a jury found the singer not guilty of all charges. Following the acquittal, Jackson retreated to Saudi Arabia for several years after the criminal trial. He later returned to the public eye and planned a grand comeback tour however Jackson suddenly died in 2009 before the tour could begin.
Robert Blake
Charged with conspiracy to murder his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley, "Baretta" actor Robert Blake claimed that he had nothing to do with the 2001 shooting death of Bakley and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Though alleged hitman Ronald Hambleton testified that Blake attempted to hire him to kill Bakley, Blake was later acquitted of murder and solicitation of murder. Similar to the OJ Simpson trial, Blake was later sued in a civil court for the murder, by Bakley's three children, and found financially liable for the death.
R. Kelly
Right at the height of his career in 2002, R&B singer R. Kelly was charged with having sex with a minor and producing child pornography after a video tape surfaced of the singer having sexual relations with an underage girl. Other media, including photos of the acts with the minor, were found at Kelly's home, however six years later when the case finally went to trial, the Grammy Award winner was found not guilty by a Chicago jury who cited a lack of evidence and the refusal of the alleged victim to testify as reasons for the acquittal.
Snoop Dogg
Mentioned in his song "Murder Was The Case," rapper Snoop Dogg was charged in connection with the 1993 murder of Phillip Woldermarian. The rival gang member was allegedly shot and killed by Snoop's bodyguard McKinley Lee while Snoop drove the car. Much from the help of fellow OJ Simpson defender Johnnie Cochran, Snoop Dogg was acquitted of the murder under claims of self defense. Unlike Simpson, Snoop Dogg's professional career didn't suffer from the case as he went on to become one of the most well known rappers of all time.
William Kennedy Smith
Doctor, activist and member of the Kennedy family, William Kennedy Smith was accused of rape in a highly publicized trial in 1991. After drinking with Senator Ted Kennedy at a Florida bar, the accuser stated that she went home with Smith and was raped. Smith claimed the act was consensual, a position that the jury agreed with when they acquitted him of the rape charges. His history however followed him as Smith was later named in two separate civil suits claiming sexual assault.
Casey Anthony
Described as "OJ number two," the trial of Casey Anthony shocked and divided the United States when the Florida single mother was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter Caylee Anthony in July 2011. Casey Anthony failed to report the child missing, lied to investigators and was seemingly unbothered during the months the child was missing. Despite evidence that Anthony's trunk contained human decomposition, Anthony was found not guilty for the murder, only convicted of providing false information to law enforcement officers.
Lorena Bobbitt
Teaching men around the world not to anger women, disgruntled wife Lorena Bobbitt was charged with malicious wounding after chopping off the penis of her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt, and throwing it out of a car window on a Virginia highway. Lorena argued at her trial that John Wayne had emotionally, physically and sexually abused her during their marriage, including raping her on the night of the incident in 1993. Though she was later found guilty of a separate assault, Lorena was acquitted of the amputation by reason of insanity. As for John Wayne, his penis was later found and reattached, allowing him to star in adult films.
O.J. Simpson
Accused of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, former National Football League player OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder in the "Trial of the Century" in 1995. Simpson was widely believed to be guilty, especially after leading police on a low-speed chase in his white Ford Bronco, but his dream team of attorneys including Robert Kardashian and Robert Shapiro convinced the jury that the evidence to convict the athlete and actor was insufficient. In 1997, Simpson was found financially liable for the deaths in a civil trial. 10 years later, Simpson released a controversial and allegedly hypothetical book titled "If I Did It."
George Zimmerman
George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old African American high school student Trayvon Martin on the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old mixed-race Hispanic, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting took place.
Following an earlier call from Zimmerman, police arrived within two minutes of a gunshot during a scuffle, in which Zimmerman had fatally shot Martin. Zimmerman was taken into custody, treated for head injuries, then questioned for five hours. The police chief said that Zimmerman was released for lack of evidence and lack of legal grounds for arrest, and that Zimmerman had a right to defend himself with lethal force. However, six weeks later, amid widespread, intense and contradictory media coverage and misleading reporting, Zimmerman was charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott.
Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford. On July 13, 2013, a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and of manslaughter charges.
Los Angeles Police Department
Bringing the term "police brutality" into our vocabulary, four members of the Los Angeles Police Department were charged with using excessive force back in March 1991. Following a high-speed chase, Rodney King, the African-American driver, was beaten excessively by the Los Angeles officers all while a bystander videotaped the incident. Each of the officers were acquitted of charges in a 1992 trial, leading to rioting and looting in Los Angeles for over three days in disgust of the verdict.