
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 29, 1995                   TAG: 9505300101
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

FEW DOUBT SIMPSON IS A KILLER, POLL FINDS

Most Americans are fairly sure O.J. Simpson is guilty, although one-third think murder charges should be dropped if the jury can't reach a verdict, according to an Associated Press poll.

Twenty-one percent believe Simpson killed his ex-wife and her friend - up from 14 percent in January - and an additional 40 percent think he probably did. Twelve percent say the charges are probably not true; 6 percent say definitely not.

The rest are uncertain. ``Don't know'' responses dropped just 5 points after four months of testimony.

If the jury deadlocks, 59 percent say the prosecution should start over with a new jury, as would ordinarily be done in a murder case. But 33 percent would oppose a retrial, including six in 10 blacks, five in 10 of those who are following the case very closely, and even two in 10 of those fairly sure of Simpson's guilt.

The poll found evidence of declining interest in Simpson's trial, with 29 percent saying they're following it closely, down from 38 percent in January.

Results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points. ICR Survey Research Group of Media, Pa., part of AUS Consultants, polled a random sample of 1,004 adults by phone May 17-21.

The trial by then had shifted into repetitive, arcane testimony about scientific blood analysis. And for the four previous weeks, the Oklahoma City bombing had displaced the Simpson trial as the lead story on most TV newscasts, said Andrew Tyndall, whose Tyndall Report monitors the nightly network news.

``You could easily claim it is being flogged to death,'' Tyndall said. ``The media overplayed it, and when something of real importance came along, people asked themselves, `What was I doing wasting my time on this?'''

An overwhelming 84 percent said the news media are giving the Simpson case too much attention. Nevertheless, one in four people who hold this view report they are following the case closely.

``What people say they want and what they actually do are not the same thing,'' said Jay Mattlin of NBC's news audience research.

by CNB