It's true then! With Obama as president Black people are finally getting a fair trail.

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Jetfire
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It's true then! With Obama as president Black people are finally getting a fair trail.

Post by Jetfire »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7767556.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7768715.stm

Ex-US football star OJ Simpson has been jailed for up to 33 years for the kidnap and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas.

Describing Simpson as arrogant and ignorant, Judge Jackie Glass said the evidence against him was overwhelming.

He and an accomplice, Clarence Stewart, were convicted on 12 counts in October.

Simpson, eligible for parole in nine years, made an emotional plea to the court, saying he was "sorry" and "confused". His lawyer is to appeal.

In 1995, the former Buffalo Bills player was acquitted of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman in what was dubbed "the trial of the century".

Emotional plea

Simpson and Stewart were among six men who seized the two memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in Las Vegas' Palace Station hotel in September 2007.

The six were attempting to reclaim items linked to Simpson's sporting career that the former National Football League star said still belonged to him.

Four of his accomplices made plea-deals in return for testifying against Simpson, and he and Stewart were found guilty on all 12 charges brought against them.

After 13 days of testimony in October, jurors said they were convinced of the men's guilt having heard audio recordings secretly made of the robbery.

"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson was heard to say on the tape, as he ordered the other men to scoop up items worth thousands of dollars.

Before sentencing on Friday, Judge Glass said "the potential for harm to occur" in the room where the robbery took place was "tremendous".

"You went to the room, you took guns... you used force, you took property... and in this state that amounts to robbery with a deadly weapon," she said.

Wearing a dark blue jail uniform and with his hands shackled to his waist, 61-year-old Simpson apologised and pleaded for leniency.

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody and I didn't mean to steal from anybody," said Simpson with a trembling voice and tears in his eyes.

"I did not know that I was doing anything illegal... I thought that I was confronting friends and retrieving my property."

But Judge Glass rejected the apology, saying Simpson's actions amounted to "much more than stupidity".

Simpson's defence lawyer Yale Galanter said Simpson would appeal the convictions.

Mr Galanter said the sentence "could have been a lot worse".

"My expectations today were that it was going to be a much higher sentence that was imposed," he said, according to AFP news agency.

'There's never closure'

After his 1995 acquittal, Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Mrs Simpson and Mr Goldman in a civil case, and ordered to pay $33.5m (£23m) to Mr Goldman's family. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs: behind bars

Fred Goldman

During Friday's hearing, Judge Glass emphasised her sentence had nothing to do with the earlier case.

But outside court, Mr Goldman's father said he was thrilled with the lengthy sentence.

"There's never closure," said Fred Goldman. "Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs: behind bars."

Judge Glass also denied defence motions for bail pending appeal, saying both defendants posed a risk of fleeing.



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RID Scourge
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Post by RID Scourge »

I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to rob them! That's why I was armed. :lol:

Can't say I feel bad for the guy. He got away with murder and was stupid enough to believe that he could commit another crime and get away with it.
"I did not know that I was doing anything illegal... I thought that I was confronting friends and retrieving my property."
Does anyone else think he must be severely retarded to think anyone would believe that he didn't think that what he was doing was illegal? And when was the last time anyone here confronted a friend with a posse and guns?

What he didn't think was that he would get caught. What he thought was that if he did he would just get off like he did the last time because the last time taught him that there were no consequences to his actions.

Part of me wonders how much of this is a cry for attention i.e. the whole fiasco with his book about how he would have killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman if he could have a do-over if he did it. Won't be surprized if we hear about him shanking another inmate just so he can get on the news again.
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Rurudyne
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Post by Rurudyne »

I only have this much to say about OJ: all things considered I have a greater appreciation for and enjoyment of the sheer physical abuse his character in the Police Squad movies takes.

Not that I would wish harm to the man, I'm not like he, but there is (for example) something satisfying about seeing the likeness of a murderer and robber bounce down the steps in a wheelchair only to comically flip over the railing at the end.
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Ackula
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Post by Ackula »

Do they make OJ jerseys? I think that would be fun to wear right now.
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secretcode
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Post by secretcode »

Every store I check (about 3) said the items were discontinued. I wonder why...
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Old Peter
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Post by Old Peter »

Ackula wrote:Do they make OJ jerseys? I think that would be fun to wear right now.
You could probably order a #32 USC jersey. They are basically the same now as they were 30 years ago. :)

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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Obama isn't President yet, you'll have to thank Bush for this one...
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Galvatron91
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Post by Galvatron91 »

Yeah, poor OJ...it's so unfair that he would be convicted of basic armed robbery and kidnapping.
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Springer007
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Post by Springer007 »

Oh the Humanity, as it was once said. It is about time the man finally paid some jail time to the good government. I even broke down laughing when he felt he did nothing wrong also in retrieving his "property". Which doesn't any said memorabilia, and property from his football career go to the Goldman family anyway?
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