I have never liked OJ Simpson

[malaise]

but I hate the thought of double jeopardy. This stinks.

[SeattleGirl]

1. This isn't double jeopardy.

He was convicted of a separate crime.

[malaise]

3. Not buying it

he was set up here.
I wish they had the same energy and hatred for Bush and Cheney.

[SeattleGirl]

8. Sorry, but I disagree with you.

Just because he's OJ Simpson, doesn't give him free reign to keep doing illegal things.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. Are you kidding?

Did you hear the tapes?

He was stone guilty, and he did it all by himself. Even in his statement to the sentencing judge, he took responsibility for what he did.

His arrogance just led him to believe, erroneously, that he could get away with this nonsense.

[acmavm]

24. No one had to set up OJ. He's an idiot who thought he could get away

with kidnapping and other crimes because he got away with murder. He probably thought the Dream Team would come back and rescue his worthless ass again.

[screembloodymurder]

25. I agree, it was a sting set up to make a point to the AA community.

The rule of law applies to some people more than others.

[YOY]

27. The only color that matters in American Justice is Green

OJ proved that.

[MadHound]

51. How was it a sting?

The government didn't set up those memorabilia dealers, nor did the government shove a gun into OJ's hand and say "go get 'em" He did that all on his own.

[screembloodymurder]

58. One of the players was an agent.

He brought the idea to O.J.

[MadHound]

72. Is there proof of that?

And frankly, if some guy comes up to you and says "Hey, let's go rob a couple of memorabilia dealers at gunpoint, hold them against their will for a bit, and get some of your shit back" what would you say? I think that most normal people would back the fuck away and say no. OJ said sure, let's do it. Even if this guy was somehow an agent(and we don't know that he was), the fact of the matter is that nobody forced OJ to say yes, nobody forced OJ to commit this crime. OJ went and did this of his own free will, and therefore he should suffer the consequences.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

53. A sting?

I urge you to find a transcript of the tapes, and listen to OJ doing his thing.

A sting?

Come on.

[graywarrior]

26. Seriously

Who gives a fuck about that loser. Bush and Cheney are far worse. They're mass/serial murderers.

[EFerrari]

29. I find myself watching his story in the same way you watch a horrible train wreck.

My ex used to complain that O.J. wrecked our chances at marital bliss because his story was blasted from about the same time we got married and that must have turned me against him.

[graywarrior]

31. Wow, that just makes so much sense.

OJ represents so much that is negative. He's a walking disaster. I think his past (that goes way the fuck back) caught up with him. He's the poster child of dysfunction.

[malaise]

36. But we won't see the same kind of energy or hatred

for those two mass murderers.

[ProfessorGAC]

110. I Kind Of Think You're Doing Apples And Oranges

Hey Malaise,

I certainly agree that i wish this much energy was applied to investigating and prosecuting silverspoon and Darth, but i'm not buying you're connecting of the two cases.

OJ did it. There was no set up. The cops and prosecutors in NV can't be ignoring a crime committed in their jurisdiction just because nobody is doing the same work they do in D.C. And there were people involved in this case that were KIDS when OJ's earlier trial was all the rage.

I'd prefer we did both(!), but i don't want kidnapping and armed robbery to not be pursued just because it's harder to bring charges against a sitting administration. A crime is a crime and we just can't ignore it! Know what i mean?

Bush/Cheney, very, very bad. Did some highly criminal and horrible things. Not arguing with you there! But, so did OJ. I just can't make your leap on this one, pal.

As to the double jeopardy thing: Get your point, but also don't agree. OJ did this. The evidence was overwhelming and the judge and prosecutors in this case were NOT incompetent, grandstanding buffoons. So the evidence resulted in clear and unabmiguous conviction.

He deserved what happened here, even if Ron and Nicole were still alive to this day, imo. The earlier crime really had nothing to do with this case and it nothing to do with his conviction and sentence. (Well, maybe the earlier trial emboldened OJ a bit, if you're one of those who believe he did it.)
GAC

[MrMickeysMom]

97. You got it, graywarrior...

I find myself disgusted about O.J. Simpson, but OH SO DISTRAUGHT about the criminals who are about to walk without being impeached, imprisoned and impaled (Vlad the Impaler should be around, I'd go for a stick up Cheney's ass over OJ any day)

[roguevalley]

46. he participated in an act which involved weapons and joked about

it afterwards. guns = ten years on that count alone. set up? he didn't have to go.

RV, who loved him once.

[hlthe2b]

76. This time he's being tried for stupidity...(essentially)

And he proved the case, big time. But, like you, Malaise, it would be hard for me to believe that the previous failure of justice did not enter in at all levels of this case.

[Ex Lurker]

99. I think he's guilty of something....

armed robbery may be a bit much. I agree it's payback. He got away with murder, largely thru the incompetence of the LAPD and LA county DA, abetted by a judge more interested in how he looked on camera than in running his courtroom properly.

[sandnsea]

2. This isn't double jeopardy

He played john wayne gun nut and got the consequences. You can't go around waving a gun and demanding anything. The courts are where we fight out our difference, not with guns on the streets.

[malaise]

4. he did not have a gun n/t

[sandnsea]

5. Yes there was a gun n/t

[malaise]

10. OJ Simpson did not have a gun

Those with guns were part of the set up. He did not have a gun.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. In the eyes of the law, he had a gun.

It's along the lines of the concept of felony murder.

If he was there with them, he was just as culpable as the guy with the gun.

And on the tapes, you can hear Simpson ordering his guys around, telling them what to do.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

67. There were two guns

You dont have to be holding the gun to be charged with armed robbery he was there and a part of it. Doesn't matter if he was holding it he was guilty and actually got a fair sentence.

[roguevalley]

47. that is not the way the law works. if you are there and there is a

gun, you are equally guilty. same as if someone gets killed, you are guilty too.

[SoCalDem]

81. in for a penny, in for a pound...

Too bad this judge & jury could not be in charge of deciding what to do about Georgie

[roguevalley]

92. truly. my dad, a former cop, explained guilt by association to us

at a tender age. its kept me on the straight and narrow forever.

[EFerrari]

6. Yep. He's self destructive and probably dangerous

but this does stink. I don't see how he could get a fair trial anywhere in the country, though.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. Did you hear the tapes?

I'm amazed he even went to trial, those tapes were so perfectly incriminating. In his own voice, in his own words.

He got a fair trial.

[malaise]

34. It's that simple

and that's my only point.
My comments have nothing to do with OJ for you well know I think he's a stupid jackass, but I actually believe in a fair trial for everyone. People do love revenge. Apparently I was born without that gene.

[EFerrari]

45. I don't have it either. What's wrong with us?

It's funny, too, because I've come to understand it really is DNA only. I just don't get triggered in that way.

[MiniMe]

62. The prosecution didn't have to work at this one, only play the tapes

All of the evidence was on tape. The judge game him the minimum sentence based on the charges. I usually agree with you Malaise, but not on this one.

In the judges words:

The judge said Simpson's contrite words in court were not as powerful as his angry words, as caught on tape, during the confrontation.

"Everything in this case was on tape," Glass said. "The evidence in this case was overwhelming."

She continued, "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."

[tularetom]

7. He's an idiot for giving the justice system another shot at him

Actually he's a victim of his own arrogance brought about by the fact that he walked years ago.

I think he actually believed he could get away with anything.

[dancingme]

13. so right

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. Bingo

Hubris is a big fat bitch.

[amdezurik]

17. Bingo! there is the key point

if he had a legitimate beef he could have gone through the courts, but then anything recovered would have gone to the Goldman's and he could not stand that thought.

[malaise]

38. We agree on that n/t

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. Do you know what double jeopardy is?

He wasn't tried for a double murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in a California state court.

That would have been double jeopardy.

He's in Nevada, where he committed all brand new crimes.

On edit - corrected Ron Goldman's name.....................

[Kalyke]

30. Ron Goldman

Ron Brown was the Clinton Administration Commerce Secretary who died in the plane crash.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

50. Whooops

"Nicole Brown Simpson" was in my head.

Nice catch. Thanks.

[pipi_k]

86. Actually, I think that whole Double Jeopardy thing is a slippery slope...

in this case....not legally, but emotionally.

So when people say he was tried again for the murders, I think what they're saying is that perhaps a couple of the jurors (and many Americans who thought he was guilty of the murders) were not totally able to separate their emotions from the facts in this case, even though they probably had to state that they could.

I honestly feel that I would probably not have been able to separate the two if it were left to me to decide guilt or innocence, much as I would try. And even though I do feel that the punishment might be a tad harsh for just being there in the same place where there were guns, there's still that little part of me that says, "YES!!!! Finally...justice!!!!"

Even though I would rather not admit it...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

103. He was tried ONCE for double murder in CA state court.

This is a totally separate offense.

The civil wrongful death lawsuit against him by the victims' families was payback time. That in NO WAY is double jeopardy. Civil and Criminal cases are separate.

And they have not collected anything from him in the civil suit. They can't touch his $24,000 a month pension from the NFL.

[my2sense]

14. ITA

The punishment seems severe for the crime perpetrated. This is simple payback.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

18. Actually, the punishment is

relatively light. He faced far longer sentences, so he got off lucky.

[Blaze Diem]

20. Actually the punishment is lenient for the crimes..He could have receieved more than 30 yrs.

considering the weapon/s involved.

According to Court TV..that is.

[my2sense]

33. I doubt that another person

with no prior convictions would have gotten this type of sentence...but I'm not familiar with Nevada laws. It smells like BS to me.

[malaise]

48. It is BS

This is for the previous acquittal and no one will change my mind on that.

[my2sense]

Yeah and what's with the judge and

her pronouncement that she thought he was "arrogant & ignorant". Something about the tone didn't set well - it seemed unprofessional I guess.

[SeattleGirl]

101. That's not unusual at all for a judge to say.

Judges have a lot of leeway with what they say in a courtroom.

[malaise]

32. Bingo

It's that simple, but many people want revenge and therein lies the double jeopardy. I opt for simplicity.

That said OJ has always been a jackass.

[roguevalley]

52. he could have faced 60 years. His lawyers expressed relief and

appreciation of the sentence and the judge. he got years added for the gun, holding it or not. anyone brings a gun, all pay. he got off light. Yale said he has at least 9 years minimum, could have had 60. the talking heads said appeal win is unlikely and he won't make the first one or two parole hearings in about 9 or 10 years.

[screembloodymurder]

66. Justice?

Hell, we have a Pennsylvania Congressman, Thomas W. Druce, who fled the scene of a fatal hit-and-run and he got two to four years, but then he was a white congressman and the victim was black.

30 years is a travesty for a first offense.

[roguevalley]

75. I know. But that is the way the law runs there and I waited to see

what his lawyers said. they were relieved it wasn't worse and they are filing appeals, which most agree won't win. Druce, I remember that. he deserved a lot of prison.

[roguevalley]

93. we have a legal system. justice? not so much. ask padilla and the others.

[polichick]

19. What strikes me is how Simpson is suddenly tearful...

He was glib and cocky toward the Brown and Goldman families ~ not an ounce of empathy for them ~ but he sure does have tears for himself. Just like any sociopath.

[EFerrari]

22. He has many fewer safety nets these days.

Little money, fewer friends, he's pretty much reviled. That must be frightening to someone like him.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

56. Consider this......

He never took the stand during his trial because he'd have been subject to cross-examination by the prosecution.

So the weasel tries to use his statement at the sentencing hearing to testify on his own behalf, stating that he's "confused" (yeah, in a world where you're allowed to do as you please, I guess you'd be confused when you're nailed and brought to justice), and then going on and on about how he was just trying to get his stuff back.

In his mind, he did nothing wrong.

His "remorse" is totally bogus. He thought he'd say the right combination of words and the judge would love him

Man, she nailed him. A very competent, tough, clear-thinking judge.

[polichick]

61. It was quite a performance!

[firedupdem]

21. I don't like him either. He should have known to sit his ass down

somewhere after walking on murder charges. He should have known better. He's too old to be that stupid. His arrogance did him in. I did find it odd that the judge brought up the other case and how it wouldn't be a factor in her decision. She may have given reason for some kind of appeal. He's done though....he screwed himself. He will be in jail until he's half dead.

[okieinpain]

23. agreed. n/t.

[Uzybone]

28. At 60 youd think he would know better

hell at any age you'd know not to show up in someone hotel room with gun brandishing heavies, hold people against their will, and take property that was in their possession. He could have simply called the cops, or hotel security.

He fucked up, plain and simple.

[old mark]

40. He is 61, same age as I am. He will be in prison for at least 15 years before parole eligibility,

according to what I read, and the judge made it a point to state that this is NOT taking any previous events into account. He will then be 76, and maybe a little slower.

How anyone can believe this is some long term racist plot on Juice is beyond belief. We white people just ain't that smart or organized.

OJ is an arrogant, stupid, brutal man who believes he has a right to fuck over everyond else because he is somehow better. In other words, a sociopath.
We all are better off with OJ in prison for as long as possible.

mark

[Tangerine LaBamba]

60. Actually it's 9 years before parole comes up

He'll be 70, in the event he's granted parole.

Well, there are always people who can't quite grasp that an individual can behave in an abhorrent manner over and over. These people need to see conspiracy where none exists, and they will ascribe victimhood to the perpetrator at the same time labeling the prosecutors and jurors and judge as evil-doers.

It's their own particular blindness, colored by their idiocy.

OJ's party is over. Good.

[old mark]

64. Yeah I just read the second draft of the sentencing story on MSN.

He could be in for a max of 33 years, and yes the judge mentioned he was being sentenced for the current convictions and nothing else. She mentioned this several times, but I am sure this idiot conspiracy thing will still persist.


mark

[damntexdem]

35. Hey, he was a great football player.

I saw him play opposite Walter Payton toward the end of both their careers.

I don't know whether he murdered two people; but I was satisfied with the outcome, given the racist investigation.

I think he was overprosecuted for the Nevada events; but he put himself at risk with his approach. I suspect that the things he confiscated were his; but he sure didn't go about it right.

[malaise]

41. Can't argue with your post

Well said.

[stray cat]

37. If a group breaks into my house with guns and won't let me leave

and threatens to kill me - I would call that a crime and not me setting them up.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IndianaJones]

42. oh c'mon....they finally got an all white jury and judge and justice was served. nt.

[boozepusher]

43. Are you suggesting his race was a factor

in the verdict and sentencing?

[IndianaJones]

44. yeah. nt.

[boozepusher]

49. So justice wouldn't have been served

by a black judge and jury?

[malaise]

54. Depends on what you perceive justice to be

Funny how they're discussing the Goldman's on GEM$NBC. Separate cases indeed. Goldman still gets nothing. Hope he's happy with his revenge.

[yardwork]

63. What, in your opinion, would be an appropriate response from the father of a murdered man?

[malaise]

65. Well let me put it this way

My favorite cousin was murdered. His widow and two sons never once spoke of vengeance and neither did any of us. We knew who we lost and nothing else mattered.
On the other hand, Goldman appeared more interested in getting rich than in mourning for his son.

[boozepusher]

68. Sorry for your loss.

Was the person responsible punished?

[malaise]

90. He was never caught

but that won't bring our cousin back.

[yardwork]

70. Good for you. You can add non-judgmental to your list of virtues.

[prayin4rain]

85. I am sorry for your loss but I did not perceive it that way

I saw him as hopping mad that nobody was going to do anything to the man that slaughtered his son so, he did the only thing that he could do. I think people grieve so differently and it always makes me so mad when people decide that the way that someone grieves is wrong. Like Jon Benet's parents.... hell they didn't grieve correctly so they were called murders instead of just gold-diggers.

[malaise]

91. There was a trial and OJ SImpson was acquitted

hardly the first or last time that has happened.

[IndianaJones]

55. perhaps not the brand of justice white people like to see scary black people get. nt.

[boozepusher]

57. What about the kind of justice

people who rob others at gun point deserve?

[IndianaJones]

71. wonder what the "victims" of this crime had to say about it....

wonder if an elderly white guy with no criminal record would have gotten significant prison time.

white justice.

[boozepusher]

73. We have no way of knowing if an ederly white male would

have been sentenced the same way. It doesn't really matter in this case because I believe the sentence was fair and justified. OJ does have a criminal record, he has had several run ins with the law.

[IndianaJones]

74. I think we do know. Jails are full of an overwhelming number of minorities. nt.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

88. Or scary rich people.....

.....who use race as a cover for their real weapon, money.

[closeupready]

59. In this case, I don't care.

n/t

[Taverner]

69. Its not double jeaporody

He was tried for a different crime, not killing his wife

Now angry white males everywhere are finally feeling vindicated, but he was not tried for murder.

[SidneyCarton]

77. Hit the button long enough and you ticket gets punched...

Mr. Simpson got away with it for a while, we all do, but karma is a beast.

[kirby]

78. If it had not been OJ...

He would have probably gotten probation or minimal time. His sentence was definitely payback for a previous crime he was found innocent of.

[rollin74]

79. probation was not an option

the charges he was convicted of carry mandatory prison time

[kirby]

94. But the charges may have been different...

An unknown may have been given an opportunity to plead to a lesser charge. His charges (10 different overlapping charges seemed like piling on to me).

[a kennedy]

115. (10 different overlapping charges seemed like piling on to me).

Yea, I thought that too....

[SeattleGirl]

100. Excuse me, but have you ever had a gun pointed at you?

Ever had someone confront you while they were holding a gun, pointed at you or not?

This is some serious shit here. I don't care if he's OJ Simpson or Joe Blow, what he did was wrong, and it was illegal.

I'm really sick of people thinking that he should get off because 1) he's OJ and/or 2) he's black.

While I know that a lot of the black people in jail DID get there by suspicious means, but in OJ's case, I don't think so.

Oh, and yes, I HAVE had guns (yes, GUNS) pointed at me. Believe me, it's nothing to laugh at or treat as nothing.

[kirby]

102. Did I ever say he should have gotten off?

I said if it were not OJ, the prosecution would most likely plead to a much lesser crime which would have resulted in probation for a first offense or very minimal jail time.

Just a quick google:
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-165737259.html
http://www.htrnews.com/article/20081009/MAN0101/8100905...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

107. OJ Advised His Lawyers Not To Plead

~

[kirby]

119. That is true...

His arrogance cost him. Apparently he wanted an 'apology' from the prosecutor.

[SoCalDem]

80. Nevada (especially Las vegas) is very "touchy" about gun-crimes

and hotel crimes.. and as long as the laws on sentencing were followed, I see nothing wrong with his sentence(s). I do think there will be an appeal, and he'll end up with less..but it;s good to see him finally held responsible for some of his actions.

[rollin74]

83. agreed

the sentence was actually at the low end of the sentencing guidelines and he could have received a lot more time. I don't see how anyone can complain about the judge in this case.

I think it's unlikely that the sentence will be reduced on appeal.

[apocalypsehow]

82. Poor, poor OJ....

( )

[sendero]

84. Most people who listen to gangsta rap..

... know it is fantasy but apparently not OJ.

[DailyGrind51]

87. Look, he broke into someone else's room with firearms and attempted

to steal memorabilia that wasn't his anymore. He deserves prison for that, as would anyone else who tried a stunt like that.

[johnfunk]

89. I liked OJ in the "Naked Gun" movies. And double jeopardy sucks.

n/t

[SeattleGirl]

95. It is NOT double jeopardy.

Two separate crimes, two different states.

What do you not understand about that?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

108. Maybe We Should Resurrect John Gotti And Let Him Out Of The Federal Prison In Marion, Illinois

Gotti was tried three times for conspiracy murder in three different cases before the feds nailed him. I doubt he was factually innocent the first two times he was acquitted...

According to the theory advanced by some folks in this thread Gotti should have never been tried for the third murder because it is reasonable to assume that most jurors in the third trial believed he got away with murder in the first two trials...

[SeattleGirl]

111. The OP and some of the responses make me wanna

Just sayin'

[johnfunk]

116. I never said OJ was in double jeoperdy...

... just that double jeopardy -- like Alberto Gonzales, Sarah Palin, Augusto Pinochet and Carrot Top -- sucks.

[LisaL]

96. Cry me a river.

[mondo joe]

98. Apparently he should not have been charged for his crime, because he was once charged

with another crime.

[TheWraith]

104. I agree.

Plenty of people do things as reckless as he did in trying to steal back his memorabilia, but they don't get prosecuted so heavily for it. This is nothing but an attempt to vindicate the verdict returned years ago by the court of public opinion.

[MrSlayer]

105. I liked him as an actor and football player.

Until it turned out that he was a psychopathic murderer, I liked him just fine. He should be a distant memory at this point, having ridden the lightning, but that's not how it worked out. Instead of laying low and counting the blessings that getting away with murder provide, he instead chose to again foray into felonious activity, this time paying for it. No sympathy at all from me. He blew his get out of jail free card.

[Luminous Animal]

106. O.J. did not kill Nicole...

read "The Overlooked Suspect".

[SeattleGirl]

109. Clap trap

People can say anything.

Just because it's in a book doesn't make it true.

[Luminous Animal]

112. Have you read it?

And just because popular opinion says it's true doesn't make it so. Two years after 9/11 a scant 70% of the U.S. population believed that Saddam had something to do with the terrorist attack.



Edited for clarity.

[SeattleGirl]

113. I could use the argument you make against my statement against you.

What I'm saying is that just because someone writes/says something, doesn't make it so.

That is true in all circumstances.

Just look at the Freepers.

[Luminous Animal]

114. Well, I could type out the entire book here...

but I've got cookies to bake tomorrow. What I will say is that, there is compelling evidence to the contrary compiled by a man that has no stake in the outcome. And though the author, an eminently respected private investigator, lays out a compelling case that it was O.J.'s son who committed the murder, he never directly accuses him of the crime because that would be unethical.

By the way, the Freepers still believe that Saddam had something to do with 9/11. Yes, let's just look at them.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

118. He Does All But Accuse Jason

That's pretty messed up...

[undeterred]

117. OJ Simpson is a thug and he deserves to be in prison

for the rest of his life.