O.J.Simpson Faces 6 Years To Life In Prison

I just hope, for once, that the judge hands out his sentence based on the circumstances and not on the celebrity status.

Edit to add: if he gets either an especially light OR heavy sentence, it'll be a failure for the legal system.

[edit on 5-12-2008 by '___'eviant]

I doubt there's anyone on the planet, except those remote Amazon villagers recently found, who didn't hear about OJ and his murder trial. The question is how much will this play into his current problem.

Should he be retroactively punished for "escaping justice" the first time? (I'm not saying he did, but many, many people feel that he did.) Should he be punished more lightly because of his age and mitigating circumstances? (He was trying to regain possession of his own keepsakes.)

I've got a feeling that once more, no matter how this plays out, people aren't going to be happy.

I for one won't miss his sick smirk,I hope he spends the rest of his life in prison,he got away with murder literally,can't think of a better place for him

reply to post by Oldtimer2


While I feel your pain, , is it fair to want him to get the max just because justice seemed to fail the first time around? As Americans, our laws, and public trust, is based on the idea of one crime, one trial, one punishment, or lack of punishment.

Are we changing our moral stance here? A lot of people I talk to feel that he should be put away for life because he cheated the system the first time. But that leads to a whole shift in the way we apply the law. Is that the future of America?

[edit on 5-12-2008 by NGC2736]

reply to post by NGC2736

As Americans, our laws, and public trust, is based on the idea of one crime, one trial, one punishment, or lack of punishment. Are we changing our moral stance here? A lot of people I talk to feel that he should be put away for life because he cheated the system the first time. But that leads to a whole shift in the way we apply the law. Is that the future of America?

Right on target Mr NG/6. I call it RED state thinking. The Neanderthal type mentality will come back to bite us. OJ got 33 years! America has this draconian long prison sentence mind-set. It must be a Red state thing. Even OJ “haters” like me have a sense of justice that says the punishment must fit the crime. Every time the judicial system metes out MORE punishment than even disinterested people will agree is excessive, the system takes ONE more downward hit just when we need it the most to at least give the appearance of FAIRNESS. And reasonableness. We blew it again, with a grandstanding judge.

OTOH, no one has ever accused OJ of being smart. Handsome? Yes. Athletically talented or gifted? Yes. But smart? Not really. Offers of a deal are made in 99% of criminal cases. This is done mainly for 2 reasons. 1) The whole system is overloaded. 2) It avoids a costly trial about which the outcome is never certain. It’s always 50/50 in a trial. No one can predict what a 12 person jury will do despite what lawyers and jury psychologists will tell you.

Despite the judge’s repeated denials of her inflicting retribution for the 1995 messed up cases in Los Angeles, her acts bespeak the lies of her words. As Shakespeare put it long ago, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, line 228–230.
www.enotes.com...

Had I have been the judge, I would have given OJ three (3) years. That is what his crimes deserved.

LAS VEGAS – O.J. Simpson is headed to prison for at least nine years, but a prosecutor says the former football star could have spent less time behind bars if he had accepted a plea deal before he was convicted. Prosecuting attorney David Roger said Simpson was offered a deal for less prison time than the nine- to 33-year prison terms the graying former football star was sentenced to on Friday for kidnap and assault with a deadly weapon on two sports memorabilia dealers.

"Mr. Simpson wanted something just short of a public apology," Roger said. "We didn't think that was appropriate." Roger did not offer specifics of the deal and Simpson's defense lawyers declined to discuss details.

An emotional and hoarse Simpson said nothing about plea deals when he stood in shackles and blue jail garb apologizing before he was sentenced by Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass. "In no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anyone," Simpson said, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."

The judge said she was not convinced and she denied that Simpson's [unexpected] acquittal in Los Angeles in the 1994 slaying of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, had any effect on a sentence that will make Simpson 70 years old before he is eligible for parole.

Simpson and Stewart were each convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon which led to their sentences. The armed robbery, conspiracy and burglary sentences [were] folded in with the rest. Glass threw out [the] two coercion charges.

The [restitution] hearing will coincide with [her] sentencing of four former co-defendants in the case who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart. Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich each could get probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.
news.yahoo.com...

[edit on 12/6/2008 by donwhite]

reply to post by NGC2736

In the same incident where Jessica Lynch became an American "hero", a now forgotten Hopi named Lori Piestewa died.

We should keep in mind that Jessica Lynch played NO part in this dismal episode of propaganda was ordered by George W Bush, VP Cheney and Herr Oberfuhrer Rumsfeld. I was unaware of the identify of the deceased GI.

[edit on 12/6/2008 by donwhite]

Sometimes justice has nothing to do with the law.

And this is Nevada, not California where often defendants get a slap on the hand, or none at all, for homicide.

Let's not muck up the issue with a lot of complicated BS-- if there's any justice left in the law, O.J. Simpson will die in a Nevada prison because he's a danger to society. Period.

reply to post by kattraxx

" . . [don't] muck up the issue with a lot of complicated BS -- if there's any justice left in the law, O.J. Simpson will die in a Nevada prison because he's a danger to society. Period.

I dunno. I've urged the Geriatric Sentence Reduction Bill but so far I've got no sponsors. My bill would cut in half the time to serve on any person who had been in prison 5 years and turned 65. The remaining sentence would be cut in half or reduced so the inmate would be released no later than at the point of 50% of his life expectancy. (Most states treat a life sentence as 40 years).

Murder. 80% of murders are committed by either relatives or friends. Murderers have the lowest recidivism rate. Murderers are usually considered “safe” except when dealing with relatives or friends. In KY, where I lived until moving to FL, the governor’s mansion had an outside staff of about 10 men to tend the lawn and flowers, and that group was made up of murderers who had less than 1 year to serve before release. KY paid working prisoners 15 cents an hour.

I think new parolees should be put on unemployment insurance at the full rate for 26 weeks, then at half for another 13 weeks and then at half (one-fourth) again for the last 13 weeks. Sort of a transition or “bridge loan” from confinement into honest labor. I'd also add that employers should be credited with half the minimum wage against their taxes for each ex-con put to work. This would go far to dramatically lowering recidivism across the board. You just don't ever get something for nothing in this world. Unless your name is Halliburton. Or Dick Cheney.

[edit on 12/6/2008 by donwhite]