O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 15 years in jail today for his role in a kidnapping and armed robbery in Las Vegas - 13 years to the day after he was cleared of double murder in America's "trial of the century".... The former American football star recruited five other men to help him rob two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room on September 13 last year, a jury at Clark County District Court found. He was convicted of all 12 charges he faced in October after more than 13 continuous hours of jury deliberations. He will be eligible for parole in six years. Judge Jackie Glass told Simpson he knew what he was doing and that his actions were "much more than stupidity".... "You went to the room, you took guns... you used force, you took property... and in this state that amounts to robbery with use of a deadly weapon," she said.
This morning, my heart goes out to Kim Goldman, Denise Brown, and their families, who, in a roundabout way, have finally seen justice done. Yes, O.J. Simpson is going to prison, and while that might not normally be cause for celebration, the Goldmans and Browns should absolutely be popping the champagne corks. No, Simpson is not going to prison for the murders he committed in 1994, but in the end it all works out. Simpson's going to jail, and for at least nine years, and two families who have suffered so greatly can find claim victory.
The decline and fall of O.J. Simpson is a sad one, but before you begin feeling sorry for the man, let's remember how we got here. In 1994, Simpson brutally murdered two innocent people...and then used his wealth and fame to buy the best legal representation available to obtain perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in this nation's history. Yes, Simpson ultimately lost the civil case brought against him, which helped lay the groundwork for where he is today, but if I live to be 105 and never again here the phrase, "If it does not fit, you must acquit", well, I'll die a very happy man.
It was refreshing to see Simpson show something resembling remorse at his sentencing, but he's been walking the earth a free man for the past 14 years. Those are 14 years he never should have had, and no amount of remorse changes the reality that Simpson never seemed to get it. He never quite seemed to understand that his acquittal was due not to his innocence but his legal team's judicial gymnastics. The fact that he lost the civil suit against him speaks to the reality that Simpson was absolutely responsible for the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown-Simpson. Now that a measure of justice has finally been achieved, Simpson will finally be where he should have been all along: behind bars.
Frankly, I couldn't put it any better than the tag I found at FARK: "Former running back to become former tight end". And it's about damn time. May O.J. Simpson spend his days protecting his backside from illegal contact....
