O. J. Simpson Could Get 6 Years, 18 Years -- or Death

Will six years in prison be enough for the opponents of OJ Simpson as punishment for his role in his current kidnapping and robbery case? Or, alternatively, do they instead really just want his death to occur while he is in prison with a life sentence? With sentencing upcoming for Orenthal James Simpson for his part in the alleged plot in a Las Vegas hotel room, how much time should O. J. Simpson receive? As a legally first time offender and one without a criminal history, that question should be an easy one to answer. Unfortunately, with a trial already flawed by the prior perceptions of the jurors that certainly affected the guilty verdicts in the trial itself, the chances for O. J. Simpson receiving a fair sentencing is debatable.

Currently O. J.'s choices are 6 years, 18 years, or life to be spent in prison. If this had been any other person in the United States, even another celebrity, there probably would not even be a blip on the radar screen if the lowest sentence were given. The fact that many people involved in this "fracas" (as it has been described), were not strangers to each other, and had previous dealings on different occasions makes the outcome of the trial itself suspect. Even when the trial was filled with testimony from prosecution witnesses who had received "sweetheart deals" to garner that testimony.

The facts that came out in the trial that Simpson and the people with him were not trying to recover anything but what he considered his personal belongings, will not weigh-in on his side. The trial testimony reflects that if anything recovered did not belong to Simpson, it would be returned to the rightful owners - something that raises more questions of whom that may have been. If anything, according to the opponents of Simpson, the belongings themselves lend credence to the idea that OJ Simpson was once again trying to keep the Goldman family from recovering anything they could make money on by re-selling them to others.

The all-white juror questionnaires have certainly answered some of those questions. Five of the jurors believe OJ did indeed get away with murder when he was acquitted of the homicides of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Coleman. I doubt there is any question that these jurors' perception of Simpson was still skewed, in spite of their protestations that they could judge Simpson on just the new charges that were against him. Another juror claims to know nothing about his previous trial other than she knew there was some kind of "car chase". Obviously, since every juror in this case is over the age of 30, I can only assume this person has been living under a rock for the past 13 years - or flat out lied.

There has been almost continuous coverage about Simpson and his alleged guilty participation in the Brown-Goldman murders since the very beginning when Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered in 1994. Debates held on radio, debates in college, debates on every news station, all refueled by any murder of a spouse, has made the O. J. Simpson name one that is front and center and the gauge upon which many cases are compared. Unfortunately, with the person being Orenthal James Simpson, the man who supposedly "got away with murder" according to the majority of the United States citizenry, what chance does he have of getting a fair sentencing after what appeared to be a blatantly unfair trial? The answer is a resounding "NO".

Sources:

O.J. Simpson could get 6 years, 18 years -- or life

5 O.J. Simpson jurors disagreed with 1995 acquittal

O.J. Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping