The People V OJ Simpson recap: The four-hour deliberation, the celebrations in the streets, the devastation of the victims' families and life after the trial of the century

American Crime Story: The People V OJ Simpson came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday night with the verdict handed down in the trial of the century.

The episode kicked off with OJ Simpson (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) speaking in closed court at the end of the trial, despite the prosecution strongly objecting. 

Dominick Dunne (played by Robert Moses) of Vanity Fair wrote at the time; 'In a dazzling display of showmanship and chutzpah, a carefully rehearsed O.J. Simpson rose to his feet to waive his right to testify and then electrified the courtroom with an unprecedented speech.

'It was hard to know where to look in the shocked courtroom. Judge Ito, who would have cut off any other defendant in mid-sentence, merely stared, knowing he had been outfoxed. Marcia Clark fumed. To my left, Simpson's daughter Arnelle sobbed.'

Then, it was time for closing arguments.

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American Crime Story: The People V OJ Simpson came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday night with the verdict handed down in the trial of the century.

The first jury vote came in with 10 voting not guilty and two voting guilty. Deliberations, expected to take days, were over in just four hours

Marcia Clark (played by Sarah Paulson) explained that Mark Fuhrman (played by Steven Pasquale) was a racist and that she wished human beings like him did not even exist, but that does not change the DNA evidence that had been gathered in the case.

She was followed by Christoper Darden (played by Sterling K. Brown) who detailed once again for the jury how afraid Nicole Brown was of her husband and the abuse she suffered at his hands.

Then came the defense and Johnnie Cochran (played by Courtney B. Vance) who told the jury that Fuhrman framed Simpson and then ended his closing by bring up the question of the black leather glove, and repeating, over and over; 'If it does not fit, you must acquit.' 

The first jury vote came in with 10 voting not guilty and two voting guilty. Deliberations, expected to take days, were over in just four hours.

Simpson was declared not guilty.

Johnnie Cochran (played by Courtney B. Vance, above) told the jury that Fuhrman framed Simpson. He ended his closing by bringing up the question of the black leather glove, and repeating: 'If it does not fit, you must acquit' 

American Crime Story: The People V OJ Simpson came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday night

Marcia Clark (played by Sarah Paulson) explained that Mark Fuhrman was a racist and that she wished human beings like him did not even exist

Dominick Dunne (played by Robert Moses, above) of Vanity Fair wrote at the time; 'In a dazzling display of showmanship and chutzpah, a carefully rehearsed O.J. Simpson rose to his feet to waive his right to testify'

The parents of Ron Goldman are seen sobbing in court. Darden breaks down as he is forced to speak to the press after the verdict. And Clark apologizes over and over for not winning the case.

In the streets there were celebrations outside the courthouse. 

Cochran meanwhile is told by Darden he has made no difference, and instead just saved a wealthy black man. Shortly after, in an address to the nation, Bill Clinton said; 'America, we must clean our house of racism.'

Simpson meanwhile walks free, and as he drives back to his home with Robert Kardashian (played by David Schwimmer) talks about how excited he is for his party that night to celebrate his freedom. 

Simpson walks free, and as he drives back to his home with Robert Kardashian (played by David Schwimmer) talks about how excited he is for his party that night to celebrate his freedom

Deliberations, expected to take days, were over in just four hours. Above, the parents of Ron Goldman are seen sobbing in court

In the streets there were celebrations outside the courthouse and people all over the country stopped to watch and the verdict was given

He also reveals Star has agreed to pay him $400,000 for the exclusive rights to photograph the event.

Kardashian walks out disgusted halfway through the party without saying goodbye. Simpson's son Jason tells his father soon after that his favorite restaurant will no longer accommodate him.

The episode ends with Simpson alone in his backyard staring at a statue of himself from his football days. 

In his Vanity Fair article about the trial, Dunne closes the piece by writing; 'Nicole Brown Simpson told every friend she had that O. J. Simpson was going to kill her and get away with it. 

''He's going to start his life all over again,' said a joyous Johnnie Cochran in a news conference after the not guilty verdict. 

''I will pursue as my primary goal in life the killer or killers who slaughtered Nicole and Mr. Goldman,' Jason Simpson read from a prepared statement by his father.'