Thursday, December 4, 2008

Juice For Breakfast

For every 20 deathly dull assignments I get as a "reporter" (I only put in in quotes because I'm a reporter in job description only), there's a plum gig like tomorrow's: Covering the sentencing of O.J. Simpson. Simpson will be sentenced after being convicted of robbery and kidnapping charges from an incident at a local casino 14 months ago. The wheels of justice turn slow, my readers. I'm not talking about how this case took 14 months to adjudicate, either. It goes back much further than that.

If Simpson gets a harsh sentence, there's no doubt in my mind it will be because the judge felt that justice wasn't served in O.J.'s murder trial 14 (13?) years ago. He walked, of course. Not many agreed with the verdict, but there it was, and there was nothing anyone could do about it- until now. Methinks there's going to be little revenge tied to the sentence.

Undoubtedly, Simpson was stupid to burst into a room with his friends or hangers-on and do what he did. But is it worth life in prison? Of course not, yet that's what he's facing. He'll likely get less than that, but it still just doesn't rise to the level of a jailable crime to me, especially when other principals in the case have profited handsomely. Just think of how many people have developed careers over the whole O.J. thing. The first O.J. trial was the best thing that ever happened to Greta Van Susteren, Roger Cossack, Marcia Clark, Johnny Cochran, Dan Abrams, Nancy Grace, Dominick Dunne, Christopher Darden, Jeffrey Toobin, etc. They all made bank over the case, no matter what side they were on. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow will be my Big Chance.

There wasn't much excitement over the whole Vegas trial, just because it was so small time and involved many a low-life scumbag, certainly not the types that Simpson would normally associate himself with. That changes tomorrow. Tomorrow, we're at the finish line. Tomorrow, Simpson will go to jail for perhaps the rest of his life. Many will cheer, few will cry. I'll do neither. A hefty sentence tomorrow is no doubt a nod to yesterday.

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