Danielle
10-04-2008, 04:16 AM
O.J Simpson guilty in robbery, kidnap trial
Sat Oct 4, 4:54 AM
LAS SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM, Nevada (AFP) - O.J. Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping here late Friday, 13 years to the day after the American football legend was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
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After a three-week trial, a Las SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM jury deliberated for more than 13 hours on Friday on 12 charges against Simpson and a friend arising from an incident at the Palace Station SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM in September last year.
A glum-looking Simpson showed no emotion as he and co-defendant Clarence Stewart were found guilty on all counts, verdicts which could see both men jailed for life.
After the verdicts were read out, just before 11:00 pm (0600 GMT) local time, Judge Jackie Glass denied a request for Simpson to be released on bail and he was led away in handcuffs. He will sentenced on December 5.
Paramedics were called as Simpson's sister Carmelita fainted shortly after watching her brother led away to a cell.
Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter suggested his client had paid the price for his notoriety, confirming an appeal against the verdict would be launched.
"Definitely someone like O.J. Simpson, everyone has a fixed opinion of him and it's troubling," Galanter told reporters. "I wasn't surprised."
"He's extremely upset, extremely emotional but it was something that was expected."
Simpson, 61, was accused of storming into a hotel room with a gang of gun-toting cohorts and seizing sports memorabilia from two dealers worth thousands of dollars.
Simpson, who did not testify during his trial, said in interviews after his arrest he had only been recovering personal items stolen from his trophy room, and said he was unaware that his cohorts were armed with weapons.
However, four of Simpson's accomplices on the heist struck plea deals and testified against the sports star during his trial, which played out in low-key contrast to his circus-like 1995 "Trial of the Century."
Defense lawyers argued detectives had rushed to judgement from the early stages of the case, and said prosecution witnesses, including the victims, could not be trusted because they had sold their stories to the media.
During the case, jurors heard a recording of detectives gleefully celebrating Simpson's imminent arrest in the hours after the robbery.
"You're just pickin' on him cause you're mad about the verdict (in the murder case)," one detective was heard to say.
"Yep," replied another.
One of the most famous American football players of his generation during a glittering 1970s career, Simpson was the prime suspect in the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.
Nicole, who had divorced Simpson in 1992 citing his "abusive behavior," was attacked so savagely she was almost decapitated.
Simpson, who has always vehemently denied the killings, was acquitted of murder after a racially charged Los Angeles trial in 1995, a verdict that was greeted with widespread outrage across America.
Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims' families totaling 33.5 million dollars. He has repeatedly said he will not pay the settlement.
Simpson now lives in Florida, where his home and NFL pension reported to be worth 300,000 dollars a year are protected from damages claims.
The disgraced football legend triggered widespread revulsion in 2006 after plans to publish a book "If I Did It", in which he presented a theory of how Brown and Goldman might have been slain by the murderer, emerged.
The book's publishers later cancelled the book following the outcry
Sat Oct 4, 4:54 AM
LAS SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM, Nevada (AFP) - O.J. Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping here late Friday, 13 years to the day after the American football legend was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
ADVERTISEMENT
After a three-week trial, a Las SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM jury deliberated for more than 13 hours on Friday on 12 charges against Simpson and a friend arising from an incident at the Palace Station SPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAMSPAM in September last year.
A glum-looking Simpson showed no emotion as he and co-defendant Clarence Stewart were found guilty on all counts, verdicts which could see both men jailed for life.
After the verdicts were read out, just before 11:00 pm (0600 GMT) local time, Judge Jackie Glass denied a request for Simpson to be released on bail and he was led away in handcuffs. He will sentenced on December 5.
Paramedics were called as Simpson's sister Carmelita fainted shortly after watching her brother led away to a cell.
Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter suggested his client had paid the price for his notoriety, confirming an appeal against the verdict would be launched.
"Definitely someone like O.J. Simpson, everyone has a fixed opinion of him and it's troubling," Galanter told reporters. "I wasn't surprised."
"He's extremely upset, extremely emotional but it was something that was expected."
Simpson, 61, was accused of storming into a hotel room with a gang of gun-toting cohorts and seizing sports memorabilia from two dealers worth thousands of dollars.
Simpson, who did not testify during his trial, said in interviews after his arrest he had only been recovering personal items stolen from his trophy room, and said he was unaware that his cohorts were armed with weapons.
However, four of Simpson's accomplices on the heist struck plea deals and testified against the sports star during his trial, which played out in low-key contrast to his circus-like 1995 "Trial of the Century."
Defense lawyers argued detectives had rushed to judgement from the early stages of the case, and said prosecution witnesses, including the victims, could not be trusted because they had sold their stories to the media.
During the case, jurors heard a recording of detectives gleefully celebrating Simpson's imminent arrest in the hours after the robbery.
"You're just pickin' on him cause you're mad about the verdict (in the murder case)," one detective was heard to say.
"Yep," replied another.
One of the most famous American football players of his generation during a glittering 1970s career, Simpson was the prime suspect in the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.
Nicole, who had divorced Simpson in 1992 citing his "abusive behavior," was attacked so savagely she was almost decapitated.
Simpson, who has always vehemently denied the killings, was acquitted of murder after a racially charged Los Angeles trial in 1995, a verdict that was greeted with widespread outrage across America.
Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims' families totaling 33.5 million dollars. He has repeatedly said he will not pay the settlement.
Simpson now lives in Florida, where his home and NFL pension reported to be worth 300,000 dollars a year are protected from damages claims.
The disgraced football legend triggered widespread revulsion in 2006 after plans to publish a book "If I Did It", in which he presented a theory of how Brown and Goldman might have been slain by the murderer, emerged.
The book's publishers later cancelled the book following the outcry