O. J. Simpson Finally Gets the Book

Thirteen years after former professional football player and actor O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges for the deaths of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, Simpson was found guilty of 12 criminal charges, including robbery, kidnapping and assault. He was sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of nine years.

On September 13, 2007, Simpson and his accomplice, Clarence "CJ" Stewart, had seized two memorabilia dealers at gunpoint, Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, in an attempt to reclaim items linked to the former National Football League star's sporting career, which Simpson claimed still belonged to him. The criminal events occurred at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stewart was also sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison.

A third man, Thomas Riccio, was also present at the incident, but was not seized by Simpson and Stewart. Riccio did, however, recorded the audio of events that had taken place, which was later used as evidence at Simpson's trial.

Before the sentence, Simpson offered an emotional apology in which he told District Judge Jackie Glass that he was sorry for his actions, but believed he did nothing wrong. Simpson stated that he did not know what he was doing was illegal. Glass brushed his apology aside, saying his actions amounted to "much more than stupidity." The judge also said that she didn't know if Simpson "was arrogant, ignorant, or both."

Simpson's lawyers-as well as other supporters-had disagreed with the way the Hall of Famer's trial was handled. Simpson's attorneys wanted to have a new trial, citing judicial errors, insufficient evidence, and bias from the jury foreman. The motions for a new trial were denied by Glass.

Prior to the sentencing on December 5, Simpson's attorneys made several additional motions before the judge, including a motion for Simpson to be released on bail, all of which were dismissed by Glass.

Glass emphasized that this sentence had nothing to do with his previous [murder] accusations and subsequent acquittal, and that this punishment was based solely on the facts presented in this case.

Judge Glass' final words before Simpson's sentence was declared were, "The problem is that I can't ignore that the behavior at the time on September 13th was reckless. It disregarded the law, the law was broken, force was used, guns were used... the potential for harm was great...the jury convicted you, and now I'll sentence you."