OJ Simpson begins jail term
- 00:01:56
- ITN
OJ Simpson begins jail term
OJ Simpson has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years behind bars for an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas. The infamous former American football star was found guilty of all 12 charges he faced in October, 13 years to the day after he was cleared of double murder in America's "trial of the century". An all-white jury of nine women and three men unanimously found that Simpson recruited five other men to help him rob two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room in September last year. The 61-year-old former actor, who did not give evidence during his three-week trial, showed little emotion when he was sentenced to a minimum of 15-years behind bars. His defence team claimed he had only been recovering personal items stolen from his trophy room, and said he was unaware that his cohorts were armed. But four of Simpson's accomplices struck plea deals and gave evidence against the former sports star in the trial. Judge Jackie Glass told Simpson he knew what he was doing and that his actions were "much more than stupidity". "You went to the room, you took guns... you used force, you took property... and in this state that amounts to robbery with use of a deadly weapon," she said. The judge also told Simpson that she had "respect" for his acquittal of double murder in 1995 and added that she did not take into account that many people disagreed with that not-guilty verdict. She said her role was not to invoke "retribution or payback" for anything else. Earlier, Simpson apologised for his stupidity and told the judge it was "the first time I had the opportunity to catch the guys red-handed who'd been stealing from my family". "I stand before you today. I'm sorry, somewhat confused," he said in an emotional statement during the sentencing hearing. The case attracted much less attention than his high-profile 1995 trial when he was cleared of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, by a predominantly black jury in Los Angeles. The 1995 verdict shocked the world and prompted debates over the racial elements of the case and the suitability of televised trials.
ITN | December 6, 2008
