andPOP » OJ Simpson

O.J. Simpson Sentenced To 15 years

andPOP Staff — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:40:31 +0000

O.J. Simpson, who walked away a free man after one of the so-called murder trials of the century has been sentenced to 15 years in jail, with further conditions that may extend his imprisonment by 2 ½ years.

On October 3rd, the 61-year-old former football star was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping by a Las Vegas jury.

The incident leading to his conviction and then his later sentence on December 5th took place in 2007 inside the four walls of a Las Vegas hotel room, where Simpson provoked a raid to recover sports memorabilia items that he claimed were his.

Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter stressed that the trial unfairly cornered Simpson during its investigations and that the results were ‘overblown charges’.

According to People’s Magazine, Nevada judge Jackie Glass who delivered the sentence made it clear that she was only sentencing Simpson for the actions for which he was currently on trial and not those of his past (referring to the 1994 murders of Simpsons ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman). “The problem is that I can’t ignore that the behavior at the time…was reckless…A gun was used…property was stolen…and now I will sentence you,” she said.

While Simpson remained calm during this delivery he did not hesitate to make an attempted apology to the court for his actions, adding that he denied knowing they were illegal to begin with.

The statement was disregarded and he was then denied bail before being escorted from the courtroom in a navy prison jumpsuit.

Simpson Book Will Now Be Stocked At U.S. Chain

andPOP Staff — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 09:26:54 +0000

American bookstore Barnes & Noble has overturned its decision not to stock O.J. SIMPSON’s hypothetical book about the murder of his ex-wife NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON and her friend RONALD GOLDMAN in its shops.

Last week (22Aug07), the U.S. chain announced it would only be selling the American football star’s controversial If I Did it online, due to a lack of
demand and not because of the book’s content. But Barnes & Noble has now changed its position.

Spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating says, “We’ve been monitoring the pre-orders and customer requests and have concluded that enough customers have expressed interest in buying the book to warrant stocking in our stores.

“We do not intend to promote the book, but we will stock it in our stores because our customers are asking for it.”

Simpson was famously acquitted in 1995 of the 1994 murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman, but was found liable for their deaths in a civil trial in 1996. The rights of If I Did It were taken away from the star earlier this year (07) and were awarded to Goldman’s family to help pay off the $38 million (£19 million) owed to them by Simpson.

Goldman’s family have since signed a deal to publish the tome with Beaufort Books – to the objections of Brown Simpson’s sister Denise Brown, who is disgusted that her sibling’s children Sydney and Justin “will have to be subjected to this step by step manual on how their mother and her friend Ron were murdered”. (GES/LAT)

Controversial O.J. Publisher Fired for Anti-Semitism

andPOP Staff — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 02:41:06 +0000

Judith Regan, the publisher who garnered much criticism for her since-cancelled plans to put out a hypothetical tell-all by O.J. Simpson, has been fired after stirring up more controversy.

A publishing source confirmed Regan’s firing was the result of anti-Semetic comments she made, reports Reuters. The unidentified remarks were reportedly made by Regan during an argument with a lawyer for HarperCollins, publisher of Regan Books.

According to The New York Times, who broke news of Regan’s firing on Friday, Rupert Murdoch (whose News Corp. owns HarperCollins) said he wouldn’t put up with “that kind of behaviour” and permitted Regan’s firing.

Many expected that Regan would be fired after the controversial O.J. Simpson fell through. The ghostwritten book was to have told how Simpson would have murdered ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman had he actually committed the crimes. Simpson had maintained his innocence since being found not guilty on murder charges.

The book and a related television special sparked such a massive public outcry that Murdoch was forced to cancel Regan’s project completely. However, since he had originally approved the project, he didn’t hold Regan to blame and she kept her job until this latest incident.

O.J. Simpson Book Lands on eBay

andPOP Staff — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:35:43 +0000

Despite the decision earlier this week that O.J. Simpson’s book, “If I did It,” would not be published, bidders lapped up the book on eBay today before the auction site decided to pull it.

The book, which tells how Simpson would have killed Nicole Brown-Simpson and her partner Ron Goldman, if he actually had killed them, was also to be followed by a two-part interview with Simpson to air on FOX next week. The TV special was also cancelled on Monday.

According to Reuters, the publishers of the book say they will find and destroy all copies of it, however that didn’t stop one copy from appearing on eBay, racking up over 50 bids, totalling nearly $2,000 in two hours before the site pulled the sale.

Also today, Simpson confirmed to a radio station he was paid to do the book, but would not confirm an amount.

O.J. Simpson Book and Show a No-Go

andPOP Staff — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:04:16 +0000

The axe has dropped on one of the strangest and most controversial literary events in recent memory.

O.J. Simpson’s “if-I-dunnit” confessional book won’t be hitting shelves, nor will his related TV interview hit airwaves, reports E! Online.

“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” said News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch, whose company owns both Fox (who was set to broadcast the interview) and Regan Books (who was set to publish the novel). “We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

The book, “O.J.: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened,” was set to hit store shelves on November 30.

It was said to feature a graphic “confession” from Simpson on how he would’ve carried out the 1994 murders of Goldman and Brown — if he’d actually been the killer, that is. The interview, a one-on-one with publisher Judith Regan, would’ve explored the same topic.

Simpson was tried for the murders but was eventually acquitted — one of the most controversial court decisions in American history.

OJ Simpson To Give Interview about Wife’s Murder

andPOP Staff — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:02:48 +0000

Fox will have an “unrestricted” interview with O.J. Simpson.

Judith Regan will interview the former football player, who was charged with the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1995; charges which he was acquitted on later. The interview will air in two parts on Nov. 27 and 28.

Simpson just released a book entitled “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How it Happened,” which he received a reported $3.5 million from Regan Books to write.

However the family of Nicole Brown Simpson thinks the interview and the book are just a way for Simpson to capitalize on the death of his ex-wife, says Brown-Simpson’s sister Denise Brown.

“We hope Ms. Regan takes full accountability for promoting the wrongdoing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of Simpson to commercialize abuse,” Brown said in a statement.