OJ Simpson -- Life in Jail?

OJ Simpson will be remembered by most as the bloke that got away with murder. This is in spite of stellar athletic achievements such as winning the Heisman Trophy as the best football player in the college ranks and his pro-football career. It is also in spite of a not so stellar movie career although he was known for his work in movies too.

In a trial that played out with much less fanfare than his murder trial, OJ Simpson and his partner in crime, Clarence Stewart, were found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. These charges and now the conviction hold the possibility of a life in jail for Simpson. Many might argue it is about time.

The sentencing is not listed until 5 December 2008. The judge, Jackie Glass, rejected a bail application so it seems that Simpson is destined to spend the time from now until sentencing in jail. The defense has indicated that they will be lodging an appeal. It will be interesting to see what grounds they intend to advance in support of the appeal.

It seems that Simpson is going to pay a high price for his notoriety and his stupidity in being part of an armed robbery to reclaim sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. If someone has stolen something from you and you know where it is then it would make sense that you call the local law enforcement officers to come in and take care of it. Most people would not think to form a posse and then take the law into their own hands.

This case turned with the testimony of Simpson's cohorts in the crime. Four of the posse turned State's evidence and struck plea deals and testified against Simpson. The provided their testimony to police long before any of them struck lucrative media deals to spill the beans publicly on Simpson. The defense however tried to paint the four as money grubbing hangers on looking to capitalize on their infamy in a financial way.

It seems that Simpson will do jail time this time around. Many will be hoping for a lengthy jail term. I guess we will find out on 5 December 2008 how much time. This might not be the justice that the families of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were looking for, but one hopes that there is some small degree of relief for them that Simpson may finally be going to jail albeit for another crime.

Dying In Jail

I wonder what it is like to have spent 56 years in prison? I wonder this from the outside and have no intention of ever wanting to find out from the inside. I wonder what it is like to have spent more than half of your 80 years of life behind bars?

Eric Thomas Turner (pictured), was a quadruple murder and the last inmate in a NSW prison that had been sentenced to death. The death sentence was later commuted to life in prison. He was released but murdered again. In this case 'was' is the operative word as Turner has died in prison as a result of complications from lung cancer.

Turner was an evil man who killed his first person at the young age of 20 in 1948. His first victim was his then 15-year-old girlfriend, Claire Sullivan. His second victim was Frank Sullivan, Claire's father. He strangled Claire and he axed the father. He was sentenced to death on 15 December 1948.

His sentence was commuted to life in prison. I am not sure why there is no truth in sentencing and when a person is sentenced to life in prison then this is exactly what it means; you die there! However, maybe after 22 years behind bars the State felt sorry for the fella or believed him rehabilitated because he was released in 1970.

Turner seems to have kept out of trouble for a while. But, perhaps it is true, "once a killer always a killer," because 3 years after his release Turner killed his mother-in-law, Harriet Field, by stabbing her 11 times. Turner's stepson, John Pilz, tried to intervene to save his grandmother and Turner killed him as well.

Not surprisingly the community was somewhat outraged that Turner was released in the first place. Nevertheless, he was convicted and again sentenced to life imprisonment. This sentence was then redetermined. The life sentence remained but a non-parole period of 20 years was set. Therefore, since 1993 Turner has been eligible to seek parole. However, it was not until his illness had become too much for him that he had sort to be released on parole.

He did seek release in 2007. The application for release was refused.

Turner was the longest serving prisoner in the NSW correctional system. However, the title of the longest continuous serving prisoner goes to the 84-year-old William "The Mutilator" McDonald. McDonald was sentenced in 1963 to life in prison for the murder of four homeless men.

As I said, I wonder what it must be like to spend so much time behind bars?