O.J. . . . I DREAM OF MURDER

In dramatic testimony that some say could compromise a guilty verdict, a friend ofO.J. Simpsonsaid that a day after the death of Nicole, O.J. told him he had dreamt of killing her. Former police officer Ronald Shipp testified that Simpson "jokingly said, "To be honest, Shipp, I've had some dreams of killing her." Shipp also said that initially he'd withheld this information from lawyers on both sides, but later called prosecutors because "ever since I had that conversation, it was just eating me up." During cross-examination, defense attorney Carl Douglas repeatedly tried to portray Shipp, an aspiring actor, as a publicity hound trying to boost his acting career under the trial's media spotlight. But Shipp, in an intensely charged moment, said: "I'm doing this for my conscience and my peace of mind. I will not have the blood of Nicole on Ron Shipp. I can sleep at night, unlike a lot of others." While Shipp's testimony appears to bolster the prosecution, some legal experts said that by allowing dreams to enter the courtroom, Judge Lance Ito had opened up an opportunity for the defense to appeal a guilty verdict. "I think it's safe to say that we don't usually try people based on dreams," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. Still, the testimony so far shows "the prosecution has come out of the gate very strong" saysTIME reporter James Willwerth. "They started with domestic violence that occurred in 1989 and linked it beautifully to the murders using Shipp."The O.J. files