Kennedy Rape Trial Captured the Nation

Dr. William Kennedy Smith’s rape trial so enthralled the country that the news of his acquittal was even flashed on the message screen at Hollywood Park racetrack, for those engaged in pursuits [#image: /photos/54cc03a21ca1cf0a23ad6615]other than watching Court TV or CNN that Wednesday afternoon in early December. Along with the Persian Gulf War, the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas, the Soviet coup, and the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, Smith’s trial was one of last year’s most watched television events. Intimates of Smith’s family said that the Kennedys were never in doubt about the outcome of the trial. From the first day, there was private talk in their midst of the victory party that would follow the acquittal. And so it came to pass.