Friday, 61-year-old former athlete OJ Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison, after 9 of which he will become eligible for parole, for a robbery in Las Vegas last year.
Back in September 2007, Simpson, along with five other men, stormed into a small room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and took thousands of dollars in collectibles from some memorabilia dealers the 6 threatened with fire weapons.
OJ stated for the court that he had had no intention of doing harm to anybody, but his plea for innocence did not manage to convince Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, who told Simpson he was his own worst enemy and dismissed his defense statements.
The conviction to 33 years behind bars came two months after a jury in Las Vegas ended a trial that spread over three weeks, by pronouncing Simpson and co-defendant Clarence „C.J.” Stewart guilty on all 12 charges that had been brought against them, including kidnapping, assault, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Thirteen years ago, OJ Simpson was acquitted in Los Angeles of the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, who had been both stabbed to death in June 1994.
Later, a civil court jury ruled that Simpson pay $33.5 million in damages to the victims’ families, of which amount little has been paid until now.
Yale Galanter, OJ’s lead attorney, stated about the Friday verdict that it had been partly prompted by the fact that Simpson had been long deemed as a murder defendant who had somehow managed to steer clear of a conviction back in 1995.
