O.J. Simpson Verdict is In: Guilty on All Charges

It looks like O.J. Simpson is finally going to jail. It may not be for the murder of his former wife, but for many, there is a belief that justice has finally been served. A verdict has been reached in Simpson's latest trial and he has been found guilty on 12 charges stemming from the armed robbery of sports memorabilia in Las Vegas on September 13, 2007. Jury deliberations began on Friday October 3, 2008 after 12 days of testimony and the verdict of guilty on all charges was decided unanimously shortly after Simpson's arrival to the courthouse at 1:50 am, Saturday October 4, 2008 as reported by CNN.

It was alleged that Simpson and another, C.J. Stewart, burst into a Las Vegas hotel room at the Palace Station, flashing a handgun and threatening sports memorabilia dealers, Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley. Simpson and his counterpart filled two pillowcases with Simpson sports memorabilia and the memorabilia of others, including Joe Montana lithographs and signed Pete Rose baseball cards. Simpson's attorneys claim that he was assuming possession of items that rightfully belonged to Simpson.

Simpson's attorneys dissuaded him and Stewart from testifying, which neither did, and instead relied on cross-examinations of witnesses. This ultimately turned on them as the evidence of recorded audio tapes made by a sports collectibles middleman, Thomas Riccio, who was one of Simpson's confidants, surfaced in the testimony. Shortly after the arrest, Ricco went public and made a reputed $210,000 for selling the story to various news media outlets. Simpson had been asking him about how to regain possession of the memorabilia that he believed was stolen from him.

Riccio, going unprosecuted, traveled the media circuit discussing his involvement in the case, although the defense claimed that Simpson was targeted by him in an elaborate setup. In the taped conversations, Simpson mentioned that they must carry guns and "look menacing" upon entry to the hotel room even though to police he stated that he had no idea that anyone would be armed.

The Judge in the case, Jackie Glass, made sure to introduce measures that would not turn this trial into the media circus that Simpson's former trial for murder had been. Glass refused testimony that would bring in latent feelings from the murder trial by denying David Cook from taking the stand. Cook was an attorney for the family of Ronald Goldman in previous trials.

In the end, many believe that justice has finally been served to Simpson and that he cheated the system in his previous trials. It is assured that appeals will be filed but analysts predict that they will have no effect on this outcome. Simpson and Stewart are expected to receive final sentences of life imprisonment.

Sources:
Paul Vercammen, "O.J. Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping", CNN