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  1. #1
    j7wild Guest

    Exclamation OJ Simpson found Guilty: will serve 9-33 Years !!

    FROM

    http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-na-...26,print.story


    O.J. Simpson sentenced to lengthy prison term
    In Las Vegas, Judge Jackie Glass orders Simpson, 61, to spend at least nine years in prison. Simpson makes a tearful plea for leniency, but Glass calls him arrogant and ignorant.
    By Ashley Powers and Harriet Ryan

    3:01 PM PST, December 5, 2008

    Reporting from Los Angeles and Las Vegas — Brushing aside a tearful apology from O.J. Simpson, a Las Vegas judge today sentenced the former football star to at least nine years in prison for the kidnapping and robbery last year of two sports memorabilia dealers in a casino hotel room.

    Under the sentence handed down by Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, Simpson would be eligible for parole in 2017. The maximum time he could serve is 33 years, at which time he would be 94 years old.

    The length of the sentence handed down in a courtroom high above the casinos and pawnshops of downtown Las Vegas was the latest and possibly final chapter in a story that has gripped and polarized the country for 14 years: Simpson's journey from beloved football player and popular actor to a social pariah acquitted of murder by a jury, but judged guilty by many in the public.

    The sentence came after an extraordinary address in which an emotional Simpson sought to justify his conduct at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino. His eyes red and his voice wavering, the NFL Hall of Famer said he went to the down-market hotel in an effort to recover family heirlooms, including his slain ex-wife's wedding ring, to pass down to his children.

    "In no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anybody," Simpson said. "I just wanted my personal things."

    Glass, who presided over Simpson's trial, testily rejected his protestations.

    "When you take a gun with you and you take men with you in a show of force, that is not just a 'Hey, give me my stuff back.' That's something else and that's what happened here," the judge said.

    Earlier, Glass rejected a request by Simpson's lawyers to free him pending appeals. Glass also sentenced co-defendant Clarence Stewart to at least 7 1/2 years behind bars with a maximum sentence of 27 years. (Earlier versions of this article reported that Simpson was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison and Stewart to at least 15, but attorneys later clarified those figures.)

    Simpson, 61, was convicted Oct. 3 for kidnapping and armed robbery, among other charges stemming from the Sept. 13, 2007, encounter at the off-Strip casino. He led a rag-tag band of men, two carrying handguns, to confront dealers hawking mementos from him and other sports stars.

    Clark County Dist. Atty. David Roger described Simpson as a "ringleader" who deserved a stiffer sentence than Stewart. It was Simpson, he said, who secured the two handguns and rounded up accomplices.

    "He chose to use force and violence to take this property," Roger said.

    Simpson's defense had asked for what they said was the most lenient sentence possible -- six to 17 1/2 years in prison. State parole authorities had recommended at least 18 years in prison.

    A lawyer for Simpson noted in court today that the dealers, Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, did not take the witness stand to ask for prison sentences for the convicted men, as victims often do.

    "I think that says a lot," said attorney Gabriel Grasso.

    In his remarks, Simpson said he had been in contact with the men, who both said they did not want him incarcerated, and asked their forgiveness.

    Yale Galanter, another Simpson lawyer, told the judge that while the gridiron great's actions "reeked of stupidity," they were not meant to cause harm.

    "In Mr. Simpson's mind ... what he was doing truly was a retrieval of his own property," Galanter said. "What it was was a highly emotional stupid act that violated the law."

    Simpson accepted an opportunity to speak to the judge, a surprise to Glass, she later said. Dressed in a blue jail-issued uniform and shackled at the waist, he spoke haltingly. He said that before the confrontation with the dealers, he had contacted his ex-wife's family and told them, "I had a chance to get some of our property back."

    Items stolen from him over the years, he said, included Nicole Brown Simpson's ring and a photo of him with President Gerald Ford. He said he hoped to give these to his younger daughter and eldest son, respectively.

    "This was the first time I had an opportunity to catch the guys red-handed who had been stealing from my family," he said.

    In the spectator's gallery, his eldest daughter, Arnelle, stared down into her lap.

    Glass was not receptive to Simpson's arguments. She recalled a pre-trial hearing in which she had wondered aloud if Simpson was "arrogant, ignorant or both."

    "Through this proceeding, I got the answer and it was both," she said.

    The evidence of Simpson's guilt, she said, was "overwhelming" because of the many audiotapes of the planning, execution and aftermath of the confrontation. One tape captured the football great talking about "the piece" -- the gun Simpson purportedly asked an associate to bring.

    "It is your own words, Mr. Simpson, your own words that could be heard throughout those events that have brought you here to this seat in my courtroom," she said.

    Among those in the courtroom to hear the sentencing was Fred Goldman, whose son was slain alongside Simpson's ex-wife in 1994. Simpson was tried for the murders but acquitted in 1995. Two years later, a civil jury found him liable for their wrongful deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to their families. During the trial, prosecutors argued Simpson's desire to avoid paying the judgment led to the Las Vegas incident. He stashed mementos with friends to keep them out of the hands of the Goldmans, whom he nicknamed the "gold diggers," and then became frustrated when they were not returned, the prosecutors claimed.

    The judge took pains to say that the sentencing was not "payback" for the 1995 acquittal, as Simpson's attorneys have suggested. Glass said that as a judge, she respected the Los Angeles jury's decision.

    "There are many people who disagree with that verdict, but that doesn't matter to me," she said.

    Simpson, whose hair has grown grayer in his two months in jail, wore a pained expression as the judge spoke. He managed weak smiles as he was led into and out of court.

    A half-dozen supporters gathered outside the downtown courthouse. When the Goldmans emerged, several men booed.

    "How are you going to get your money now, Goldman?," cried Las Vegas resident John Post, who was carrying a "Free O.J." sign. "You going to go after his ramen noodles?"

    Goldman, accompanied by his daughter, Kim, ignored the shouts.

    "What we have now is satisfaction of knowing this monster is where he belongs," Fred Goldman told a crowd of reporters. He said he was pleased that years of trying to collect the civil judgment against Simpson seemed to have led to the sentence for robbery and kidnapping.

    "If that pushed him over the edge, great, put him where he belongs," he said. But he rebuffed suggestions that Simpson's imprisonment brought closure to the family.

    "Ron is always gone," he said.

    In a statement, Nicole Brown Simpson's sister said her family was focused on the couple's two children, Justin and Sydney.

    "It is very sad to think that an individual who had it all, an amazing career, beautiful wife and two precious children has ended up like this," Denise Brown said. "Our hearts are saddened that they once again face the tragedy of yet another parent absence in their lives."

    This is my Opinion :

    OJ is a moron and the Goldmans need to shut up already!!

    OJ was tried and found not guilty of 2 count of murder by a jury of his peers and even if the Goldmans and many people on this planet think OJ is gulty of those murders, the bottom line is he was tried and found not guilty and he cannot be tried twice for the same crime.

    Maybe he was guilty but this is the same as people who were really not guilty that were found guilty and had to serve time in Prison for a crime they didn't commit.

    Sure the Goldmans won a civil suit against OJ but getting him to pay is another thing.

    Many people have won civil suits with large cash awards but never collected on them.

    Furthermore, who is to know that the Goldmans didn't set this whole thing up to bait Simpson to take the fall?

    I am not defending or condoning Simpson's action in this latest screw up of his; if he was the rightful owner of the Memorabilia in question, he went about the wrong way to getting them back and in the course of doing so, he did commit several crimes and he must pay for those crimes.

    I am just saying if the Goldmans had anything to do with this, they are as guilty as he is!!

    Furthermore, if I was in OJ's position where I was found not guilty of 2 counts of murders in one the biggest trial of last century, I would have seen that as a sign from God and kept a low profile since then and do my best to lead a normal honest life.

    By the way, he maybe eligible for parole as soon as 2017.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    This is my Opinion :

    OJ is a moron and the Goldmans need to shut up already!!


    That pretty much sums it up for me also.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    The Goldmans can talk all they want until the day they die when it comes OJ. Their daughter/sister was murdered and it is pretty obvious who did it; even if he was found not guilty in front of a jury of his "peers" (or maybe 'fans' is a better description).
    Last edited by goodasgold; 12-06-2008 at 04:09 AM. Reason: corrected name
    Homer Simpson: "I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman."

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