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O.J. Simpson faces 6 years to life at sentencing

By KEN RITTER

LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson is going to prison; the question is for how long.
(http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/12/05/oj-simpson-cp-RTX973A.jpg)
The 61-year-old former football star who walked away a free man after a celebrated murder trial was due to learn Friday how much time he'll spend in a Nevada state prison for a botched attempt to recover sports mementoes and personal items from two collectibles peddlers.

Neither Simpson, who was acquitted of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles, nor his co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, testified at trial. They were convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and face mandatory prison time — a minimum of six years and up to life.

Simpson attorney Yale Galanter has said his client won't address the court. Stewart will, said his lawyer, Brent Bryson.

"Best-case scenario we're hoping for is six years. That's the bottom-end number before being eligible for parole," Bryson said.

District Attorney David Roger is not expected to call witnesses, spokesman Dan Kulin said.

Simpson lawyer Gabriel Grasso said Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass would likely keep the proceedings short.

"She wants to hear from the lawyers and she wants to hear from the defendants. That's about it," Grasso said.

Fred Goldman and his daughter, Kim Goldman, the father and sister of Ronald Goldman, were among 15 members of the public allowed in to the courtroom. Most of the 63 seats were taken by media, lawyers and family members of the defendants.

Ronald Goldman was slain along with Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, in 1994.

His father declined to comment on Simpson's sentencing until after the hearing.

Judges in Nevada have broad discretion in determining whether to run sentences consecutively or at the same time. Glass, known for giving severe sentences, can ignore or accept a recommendation from the state parole agency calling for at least 18 years.

She received written pleas for leniency from defense lawyers and was expected to rule on a request to let Simpson post bail and be freed from jail while he appeals his conviction. The judge already denied the men's request for a new trial.

"Notwithstanding the jury verdict, Simpson continues to maintain his innocence," Grasso said in a brief seeking his client's release.

Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings middleman Thomas Riccio secretly made of the Sept. 13, 2007, Palace Station casino hotel confrontation with sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.

"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and instructs other men to scoop up items he insists had been stolen from him.

On Tuesday, Glass is scheduled to sentence four former co-defendants who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart. Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich could receive probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.

O.J. Simpson sentenced to 15 years   :5- :5-




OJ Simpson jailed for 15 years
Former athlete infamous for acquittal over ex-wife's murder is sentenced for botched Vegas raid to recover memorabilia
guardian, Friday December 5 2008

OJ Simpson, who walked away a free man after one of America's most sensational murder trials, was today sentenced to 15 years in prison for a botched attempt to recover sports memorabilia.

Simpson, 61, and his co-defendant and former golfing friend, Clarence "CJ" Stewart, were convicted in October of 12 criminal charges including kidnapping and armed robbery.

The former American football star was found guilty of holding up two sports memorabilia dealers in a room at the Palace Station hotel and casino in Las Vegas before stealing from them in September last year.

Simpson will be eligible for parole after six years. Stewart received the same sentence.

In a long preamble before sentencing, prosecutors sought to pin the blame mainly on Simpson rather than his co-defendant. They said Simpson was the ringleader of the crime, the one who secured the guns and the one who escalated the violence.

"It could have been a lot worse," the prosecution said. "He's the person who ruined so many lives."

Simpson's two defence lawyers mounted strong appeals for clemency before an emotional Simpson stood up to say he was sorry. Wearing a blue prison suit, he defended his actions as those of a man trying to recover property that had been stolen from him.

"This was the first time I had an opportunity to catch these guys red-handed who were stealing my property," Simpson told the judge.

"I did not mean to hurt anyone, I did not mean to steal anything, just my own stuff," Simpson said. "I just wanted my personal things back… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

Simpson achieved international notoriety when he was cleared of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles in 1995. The verdict of the mainly black jury in what was called the trial of the century divided America along racial lines and prompted debates over the suitability of televised court cases.

In the Las Vegas trial, Simpson was accused of taking a gang of men to the Palace Station to retrieve items he lost while trying to hide them from Goldman's family, which won $33.5m in damages from Simpson in a civil case over the deaths of Brown and Goldman.

Four of the five men who accompanied Simpson to the casino - Charles Cashmore, Walter "Goldie" Alexander, Michael "Spencer" McClinton and Charles Ehrlich - agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testified against Simpson and Stewart.

Simpson's lawyers said he never intended to commit a robbery but wanted to reclaim personal mementos of his career and family life that were being sold by the dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.

Simpson did not give evidence during the three-week trial, and jurors were instructed not to consider that fact when judging the case. The judge, Jackie Glass, who rejected several mistrial motions and kept a tight rein on proceedings, warned the all-white jury against trying to punish Simpson over the death of his former wife.

She told them that if they hoped to become famous because of the trial "then this is not the case for you".

The charges included two of first degree kidnapping, two of armed robbery, two of assault with a deadly weapon, two of coercion with a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime, kidnapping and robbery.

Judges in Nevada have broad discretion in determining whether to run sentences consecutively or at the same time. Glass, known for giving severe sentences, could have ignored a recommendation from the state parole agency calling for at least 18 years for the convictions.

"Notwithstanding the jury verdict, Simpson continues to maintain his innocence," the former football star's lawyer, Gabriel Grasso, said in a brief seeking his client's release before today's sentencing.

Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of recordings secretly made of the September 2007 confrontation at the Palace Station casino hotel with Beardsley and Fromong.

"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and he instructs other men to scoop up items he insists had been stolen from him.

Simpson's friends insist that the whole thing was a set-up as Thomas Riccio, who had encouraged Fromong and Beardsley into setting up shop in the hotel's room 1203, had also bugged the place. It was Riccio who told Simpson about the men. He sold the resulting audio tapes, on which Simpson can be heard, for thousands of dollars to a celebrity website.

On Tuesday, Glass is scheduled to sentence those who agreed to testify against Simpson and Stewart.

Well OJ is OTJ- Off-to-jail.  Probably where he needs to be based on the data we have.  He was a good foot ball player but evidently like a lot of these jokers not a good man in society.  Well maybey he can talk to vick and others in the pin and form a "convict" league.  You know if they did it and telivised it -We would watch It!!!! :97-