Emotional Simpson Sentenced to Many Years In Prison

CLEVELAND - O.J. Simpson's great fall from grace continued today as he was sentenced in the same Las Vegas courtroom that he stood in two months ago when his latest trial came to an end.

He will serve a minimum of nine years. A max of 33.

Simpson, 61 was found guilty in October of a host of charges stemming from his masterminding of a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping caper in a Vegas hotel. Simpson had rounded up several henchmen to take back (by force) his memorabilia which essentially make up the valuable artifacts of his celebrity life.

The football Hall of Famer reportedly brandished a gun during the confrontation which was surreptitiously audio recorded by Thomas Riccio and was the genesis of the prosecution's case against Simpson.

Judge Jackie Glass sentenced both Simpson and co-defendant Clarence Stewart after both men gave spirited soliloquies on their own behalf. An emotional Simpson mentioned that he was "sorry" and that he "didn't mean to hurt anybody, he just wanted his property back."

Glass didn't budge.

She told Simpson that she believes that he is both ignorant and arrogant and is only remorseful now after having spent the past 64 days behind bars. This after a brilliant preamble given by Simpson's attorney Yale Galanter, who also filed last ditch motions for Simpson's possible release on bail, which were denied.

Simpson went from achieving the American Dream to achieving infamy when his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in a posh Los Angeles neighborhood in 1994. After a highly publicized and historic murder trial, Simpson was acquitted in the fall of 1995 to the dismay of many who felt him to be guilty. 

Murder victim Goldman's father and sister were present in the courtroom and were very happy with the sentence. "It was bittersweet, but that S.O.B. is where he belongs now," said Fred Goldman. Did the public perception that Simpson was guilty but got away with a double homicide in his murder trial contribute to the verdict and the sentence? The judge says no.

I strongly disagree.