By Zenitha Prince
Washington Bureau Chief
(December 5, 2008) - Face stretched in a grimace, celebrity bad boy O.J. Simpson, 61, was led out of a Nevada courtroom today after he was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison on convictions stemming from a 2007 fracas in a Las Vegas hotel.
After denying bail pending an appeal, Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass conferred the sentence for Simpson’s Oct. 13 conviction on 10 charges—two coercion charges were thrown out—including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault. With a number of consecutive sentences, the former NFL Hall of Famer may not be eligible for parole for at least eight years.
For many, today was a day of reckoning for the gridiron great turned convict, who 13 years before was acquitted in the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. That case had been a highly emotional and polarizing one. And today, as the sentence was read, tears streamed down the face of the Goldman family members in attendance.
After the hearing, CNN reported, Fred Goldman told reporters, “If our efforts for all these years of pushing him drove him to commit armed robbery in Vegas, great! This monster is where he belongs -- behind bars."
In his arguments throughout the case and today, Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said he feared emotional holdovers from the previous case would spill over, turning this case into “payback or retribution.”
Judge Glass emphatically denied those claims, however. “I’m not here to sentence Mr. Simpson for what happened previously in his life,” she said. “…I’m not here to try and cause any retribution or payback for anything else. I want that to be perfectly clear to everyone.”
Simpson’s conviction and sentencing stemmed from a Sept. 13, 2007, incident in which he and a posse of men stormed a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino to take sports memorabilia from dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley.
In an unexpected move Friday, Simpson gave an emotional apology and accounting for his actions that day, saying he was simply trying to retrieve family heirlooms and property that had been stolen and bartered on the Web. “I stand before you today sorry, somewhat confused,” Simpson said, seeming on the brink of tears. “I feel apologetic to the people in the state of Nevada.”
In a sometimes trembling voice, Simpson also explained why he did what he did.
“This was the first time I had the opportunity to catch persons red-handed who was selling my property,” he told the court. “In no way did I mean to hurt anybody or steal anything from anybody. I thought I was confronting friends and retrieving my property.”
Galanter buttressed those claims as he sought Judge Glass’ leniency in the sentencing, which could have run from six years to life for Simpson and co-defendant C.J. Stewart. “My client’s acts were beyond stupid,” he said. “[But] his intent was not to cause harm or injure other people.”
“I think the court needs to look behind the facts and behind the defendant that’s being convicted top the intent,” Galanter continued and later added, “The court should be lenient and sentence Mr. Simpson at the bottom of the range.”
Judge Glass was not buying it, however. "Earlier in this case, at a bail hearing, I said to Mr. Simpson I didn't know if he was arrogant, ignorant or both," Glass said in a protracted tongue-lashing. "During the trial and through this proceeding I got the answer, and it was both."
Glass also said that taped records of the group’s activities before, during and after the incident belied Simpson’s claims that he was merely “retrieving” stolen property. Simpson was heard urging one man to bring a gun, she said. And later, he was heard joking about the look on the sports dealers’ faces when they were confronted.
“When you take a gun and men with you in a show of force that’s not just a ‘hey, give me my stuff back,’ that’s something else,” Glass said. And even if your motives were pure, she told Simpson, “It really doesn’t matter—you went to the room, you took guns, you used force, you took property and in this state, that amounts to robbery with the use of a deadly weapon.”
Simpson’s lawyers say they plan to file an appeal.