Scoops
05-29-2009, 12:03 PM
A judge sentenced music producer Phil Spector to 19 years to life Friday for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003.
Spector, 69, received 15 years to life for second-degree murder and four years for personal use of a gun. The judge is also ordering restitution payments.
A jury convicted of the murder of Clarkson at his home last month. Clarkson, 40, died of a single shot to the mouth which was determined to be fired from Spector's gun. The two met earlier that evening at a Hollywood club.
The trial was the second for Spector after a jury reached a deadlock in 2007. Prosecutors slammed Spector during the trial for being a bully and a "demonic maniac." They argued that it was part of a pattern of violence and cavalier gun play that Spector has displayed toward women for the past twenty years.
But the defense argued that Clarkson — a hostess at the House of Blues in Hollywood — was despondent over an unsuccessful career and committed suicide as a result.
Spector plans an appeal.
The legendary producer changed the pop music industry in the 1960s for his revolutionary "Wall of Sound" technique. He worked with such icons as Cher, The Ronettes and Leonard Cohen at the height of his fame.
In a 2003 interview, he told British journalist Mick Brown that he suffered from bipolar disorder and had "devils that fight inside me."
Spector, 69, received 15 years to life for second-degree murder and four years for personal use of a gun. The judge is also ordering restitution payments.
A jury convicted of the murder of Clarkson at his home last month. Clarkson, 40, died of a single shot to the mouth which was determined to be fired from Spector's gun. The two met earlier that evening at a Hollywood club.
The trial was the second for Spector after a jury reached a deadlock in 2007. Prosecutors slammed Spector during the trial for being a bully and a "demonic maniac." They argued that it was part of a pattern of violence and cavalier gun play that Spector has displayed toward women for the past twenty years.
But the defense argued that Clarkson — a hostess at the House of Blues in Hollywood — was despondent over an unsuccessful career and committed suicide as a result.
Spector plans an appeal.
The legendary producer changed the pop music industry in the 1960s for his revolutionary "Wall of Sound" technique. He worked with such icons as Cher, The Ronettes and Leonard Cohen at the height of his fame.
In a 2003 interview, he told British journalist Mick Brown that he suffered from bipolar disorder and had "devils that fight inside me."