The father and sister of Ron Goldman appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show Thursday to explain why they are publishing O.J. Simpson’s controversial “If I Did It.”

To sum up, they said this was a punishment for the murderer of Ron, by depriving him of the money he planned to make with the book and by publishing what they consider to be his confession.

Professional football player/ Hollywood actor O.J. Simpson shocked the world when he was suspected of having murdered his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, in 1994.

O.J. was acquitted in 1995 of the two murders, but was found liable for their deaths in a civil trial in 1996. He was ordered to pay over $30 million in damages, a sum he still owes the Goldman family to this day.

In late 2006, O.J. reminded the public of his existence in yet another shocking way. He planned to publish a book titled “If I Did It,” which described how he would have murdered Nicole and Ron, had he done it. Which he didn’t.

The public outrage was so great that publishing house HarperCollins canceled the project.

Fred Goldman, Ron’s father, called O.J.’s plan “despicable” and accused him of trying to make money in a most dishonorable way – “blood money.” Denise Brown, sister of the late Nicole Brown, agreed with Fred Goldman.

However, over the summer, the Goldman family was awarded the books’ rights by a bankruptcy judge, on account of the $38 million O.J. owes them. Then the shocker came: the Goldmans found another publisher and were going to release the book.

The release happened on Thursday, the same day the Goldmans joined Oprah Winfrey on her talk show.

Oprah set the record straight by saying she was not promoting the book and in no way wanted to encourage people to do so. Calling the topic a “moral, ethical dilemma” for herself, she said she too considered the publishing of the retitled “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer” “despicable.”

“It's sending him a message,” Kim Goldman said. “He put hours putting together this confession about how he killed Ron and Nicole, and he worked hard thinking he was going to make millions off of it. And we snatched it right out from under him.”

Fred Goldman emphasized that he does not feel justice has been made and has not found peace over the loss of his son. “It brings a certain level of satisfaction that we've taken something from him. I think it also is a recognition for him to know forevermore that we're going to be after him, to punish him for what he's done, to get some piece of justice,” he said.

Denise Brown appeared on Oprah’s show only on condition that she does not share a stage with the Goldmans, so as not to give the release of the book even “more impact.” In a separate filmed segment, she called the Goldmans hypocrites, as she has done before.

“I still don't believe it should be published. I think it is a morally wrong thing to do,” Denise brown said.

In mid-August, when Fred Goldman announced the notorious book would be published, Denise Brown said in a statement that that she cannot believe her sister’s children “will have to be subjected to this step by step manual on how their mother and her friend Ron were murdered.”

Fred Goldman has said that sales proceeds from the book would go to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice, which aims to help victims of violent crime.

“If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer,” is printed by New York-based publisher Beaufort Books. O.J.’s manuscript was reportedly kept “intact,” wile the Goldmans have added “key commentary.”

Beaufort president Eric Kampmann promised that the book would “honor the memory of the victims.”

However distasteful, “despicable,” offensive or tacky the project has been found by the public, many seem eager to read it. Barnes & Noble initially announced it would not have the book in stock and then said public demand had changed that plan.

As of Thursday, the book was No. 8 in sales on Barnes&Noble.com and No. 52 on Amazon.com, according to the AP.