Brain tumour kills celebrity lawyer

Johnnie Cochran, the charismatic lawyer best known for defending OJ Simpson, has died of a brain tumour at the age of 67.

Cochran, who began his career as a crusader against police abuses, secured the acquittal of Simpson in 1995 despite what prosecutors described as a 'mountain of evidence' against him.

The US football star-turned-actor was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Cochrane later said he regretted taking on 'the trial of the century' and was insulted to think that he could convince black jurors just because he was black.