by Teh Nutroots | The judge said it wasn't "payback for anything else." And she could have given him life, according to the CNN report.
His voice shaking, Simpson had apologized in court and insisted he was merely trying to recover property that had been stolen from his family. He was convicted of leading a group of armed men into a room at Palace Station Hotel and Casino, where they planned to take sports memorabilia from dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley.
As he acknowledged, it was stupid. But it was not only stupid. The judge, Jackie Glass again:
"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."
Simpson, who wore blue jail scrubs to court for Friday's sentencing, did not testify during his trial. He was convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and assault on October 3 -- 13 years to the day after his Los Angeles murder trial ended with an acquittal. (CNN).
I would say, "What was he thinking?" except that "thinking" isn't really the right word for the process by which he decided that this was a good way to get back some memorabilia to which he felt entitled.
His response was piteous---my co-blogger would say, "Everyone's sad when they get busted"---but showed, in case you were in any doubt, how Simpson's mind works when he is feeling hard done by. It doesn't work like a normal person's, that's for sure. You or I, for example, would have filed a lawsuit.
"I didn't want to steal anything from anybody," Simpson said, adding that among the items he sought to recover were a wedding ring for his daughter and family photos for his son.
"I just wanted my personal things. I was stupid. I'm sorry. I didn't know I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was confronting friends. I thought I was retrieving my things. I didn't mean to hurt anybody and I didn't mean to steal anything," Simpson said. (CNN).
But at least Fred Goldman may finally have got enough revenge to take a break.
Simpson was found liable in civil court for the death of his former wife and Goldman. Since the judgment, the Goldman family has tirelessly pursued Simpson's assets...
"If our efforts for all these years of pushing him drove him to commit armed robbery in Vegas, great!" Fred Goldman told reporters after the hearing.(CNN).
Huh. Patting yourself on the back for "driving" someone "to commit armed robbery" so you can finally have the revenge you long for? All crimes have victims, Fred Goldman, and this one did as well. And it could have been worse.
Would Goldman have said the same if O.J. had instead committed armed robbery?
Careful: an unslakeable and excessive thirst for vengeance makes its own sort of monster incapable as my co-blogger says, of beholding the splinter in its own eye.
But plenty of people will be happy that Mr. Goldman will have this as well as whatever he's managed to collect in damages:
"There's never closure," said Fred Goldman. "Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs: behind bars."(BBC News)
I hope this means we can all stop feeling sorry for him now. Though that's disingenuous of me: I stopped feeling sorry for him some time ago. He used up all the sympathy I had available thanks to things like this
As a certain widow I know pointed out, people die senselessly all the time and those of us who lose loved ones to forces that can't be sued or endlessly pursued just have to be satisfied with whatever closure we can get.
Anyway, O.J. is down for the count as they used to say and may still for all I know. "Grimacing, Simpson was escorted from the courtroom in shackles."(CNN)
Those who rejoice when the guilty are punished may proceed. Karma requires the rest of us to bow our heads in silent acknowledgment and otherwise to keep quiet.
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