Looks like O.J. Simpson will stay in jail a while longer. A judge just denied his request for a new trial for his 2008 convictions for robbery and kidnapping that led to his 33-year sentence.
Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell said the former NFL star will have to stay in prison and won’t be eligible for a new parole hearing until he’s 70 — four years from now, The Los Angeles Times reported. Simpson had sought the new trial because he said his legal counsel for his prior hearing was incompetent.
Simpson’s president attorney, Osvaldo Fumo, reacted to the ruling, in the L.A. Times: “We’re obviously very disappointed in the judge’s decision. We plan to appeal the case.”
Next up: Nevada Supreme Court, his attorney suggested. And if that results in a loss, then Simpson could also turn to the federal courts to decide if his constitutional rights for effective legal representation had been violated.
Simpson’s kidnapping and robbery charges stemmed from a 2007 incident in Las Vegas, when he and his friends stormed into a hotel room at gunpoint and demanded the occupants give back sports memorabilia that they believed were stolen.
“It was my stuff,” Simpson said, in court, the L.A. Times reported. “I followed what I thought was the law.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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