# Simpson goes to prison --- happy or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892 "2008-12-05T18:33:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/41 "2008-12-06T13:06:37Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Justice wasn’t seved in the murder trial, and justice wasn’t served in this case. The kidnapping charge itself is pure bullshit. I’m guessing that you wouldn’t feel that way if you were in that hotel room while Simpson and his buddies were doing their thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/42 "2008-12-06T13:13:33Z")
I believe that Simpson did the murders and that the combination of bad police work, ineffective prosecution and the money to buy a Dream Team resulted in a legitimate “not guilty” decision. I believe that the current decision was correct and the sentence was appropriate for this crime. The law determines the punishment he received. Could he have gotten less time within the boundaries of the sentence limitations? Sure. But it’s not like he’s the only criminal in history who had the book thrown at him. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/43 "2008-12-06T15:28:53Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > [QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I was about to say exactly this. I am an attorney in juvenile court in Ohio (I know you are or used to be a juvenile court magistrate, so I REALLY hope you’re not where I am!) and I have to explain this very carefully to EVERY client who is charged with kidnapping. They all assume that kidnapping means that you have to take someone from one place to another against their will. Simply restraining their movement so they can’t go where they want to go is enough, and people just don’t get that. I wish the legislature would come up with another name for it so I didn’t have to waste five minutes explaining it to people every time it comes up. 😉 [/QUOTE] Canada has done this, creating two different offences: [kidnapping, and forcible confinement](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/C-46/bo-ga:l_VIII::bo-ga:l_IX//en?page=6&isPrinting=false#codese:279): > [@](#): > > 1. (1) Every person commits an offence who kidnaps a person with intent > > (a) to cause the person to be confined or imprisoned against the person’s will; > > (b) to cause the person to be unlawfully sent or transported out of Canada against the person’s will; or > > (c) to hold the person for ransom or to service against the person’s will. > > … > > (2) Every one who, without lawful authority, confines, imprisons or forcibly seizes another person is guilty of > > (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or > > (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months. Kidnapping charges are quite rare in Canada, but forcible confinement is fairly common. If OJ had done it up here, he would in all likelihood have been charged with forcible confinement, not kidnapping. I don’t know if that difference in Canadian law v. Nevada law is influencing \*\*The Flying Dutchman’s \*\* opinion on this issue? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/44 "2008-12-06T15:41:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I for one am doing my Happy Dance. This pretty much sums it up for me too. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/45 "2008-12-06T16:07:00Z")
It does make you wonder about his impulse control. There’s no doubt his possessions were stolen and marketed as collectibles by the sleazeballs he chose to associate with. The interesting thing is that dodging 2 murders by a whisker did not give him a moments pause in concocting this idiotic scheme. It does give credence to the notion that he just follows his rage where ever it takes him. I’m trying to remember why he didn’t get the police involved if he thought it was theft but choose to go the “OJ strike team” approach. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/46 "2008-12-06T16:36:32Z")
I take no pleasure in watching a person who had so much throw it away. My beagle Nordberg is sad too. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/47 "2008-12-06T16:54:19Z")
Not only is the sentence appropiate, but I wish he could be given an extra year just for that narcissistic crybaby shit he pulled in court. Hey, OJ, guess what? The rules apply to _you_, too! He actually said, “I didn’t mean to steal from anybody.” Cream cheese on a pickle! How does anyone _accidentally_ do what he did? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/48 "2008-12-06T18:31:25Z")
> [@astro](#): > > (snip}I’m trying to remember why he didn’t get the police involved if he thought it was theft but choose to go the “OJ strike team” approach. It’s possible that past experience has made him doubt the efficacy of the police force and the criminal justice system. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/49 "2008-12-06T19:09:44Z")
While I too believe that OJ did murder his wife and Ron Goldman, this seems like a very stiff sentence for the crime he has actually, you know, been convicted of. If I were his lawyer, I’d be appealing like crazy, comparing it to sentences for similar crimes. I can’t believe that a weird, half-assed stick-up like this would normally be punished so severely. And if not, then it is an injustice, in my book. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/50 "2008-12-06T20:17:31Z")
> [@astro](#): > > It does make you wonder about his impulse control. There’s no doubt his possessions were stolen and marketed as collectibles by the sleazeballs he chose to associate with. The interesting thing is that dodging 2 murders by a whisker did not give him a moments pause in concocting this idiotic scheme. It does give credence to the notion that he just follows his rage where ever it takes him. > > I’m trying to remember why he didn’t get the police involved if he thought it was theft but choose to go the “OJ strike team” approach. That’s why I was wondering about whether his attorneys ever considered subjecting him to psychiatric examination. I recall reading an article where a doctor hypothesized that Simpson may have been suffering from post-concussion syndrome. It just seems odd that a man who was a beloved athlete, actor, and television commentator would degenerate into such a scumbag. When you consider the post-NFL career of the Steelers’ [Mike Webster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Webster), I think there’s a reasonable basis to believe that playing football may have negatively affected Simpson’s mental health. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/51 "2008-12-06T20:45:50Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I take no pleasure in watching a person who had so much throw it away. Yep. You can look at some people and think “He never had a chance.” You look at some other people and think “He had all the chances in the world.” Simpson had all the chances in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/52 "2008-12-06T21:03:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Can I envision armed robbery that does not involve kidnapping? Sure. Put a gun in your pocket and break into a house or steal a car. Now you’re armed and you’re committing robbery. Wouldn’t that be burglary? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/53 "2008-12-06T21:20:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > It does make you wonder about his impulse control. There’s no doubt his possessions were stolen and marketed as collectibles by the sleazeballs he chose to associate with. The interesting thing is that dodging 2 murders by a whisker did not give him a moments pause in concocting this idiotic scheme. It does give credence to the notion that he just follows his rage where ever it takes him. > > I’m trying to remember why he didn’t get the police involved if he thought it was theft but choose to go the “OJ strike team” approach. Remember-you’re talking about the same guy who wrote the “I Didn’t Do it, But IF I Did, Here’s How I Would Have Murdered Ron and Nicole” book. Not exactly the brightest crayola in the box. One wonders if he’ll try to appeal. If he does is it possible for him to end up with an even stricter sentence? (I read on another board that supposedly Fred Goldman once said he hopes his prison cell looks out over a golf course.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/54 "2008-12-06T21:49:54Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > …supposedly Fred Goldman once said he hopes his prison cell looks out over a golf course. Ooooo, I’d like that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/55 "2008-12-07T20:41:04Z")
I’m happy. I think Simpson is a menace to society, and an arrogant and contemptable one at that. I think he must have committed those murders, regret that he was acquitted, and think he deserves prison for that. But I don’t like the idea of his being convicted today to avenge those murders. Courts are supposed to be able to judge one crime without being preoccupied with another crime, and I am inclined to think that they typically achieve this goal. Most often, I think, judges and other agents of the courts try to do what they are supposed to. Fondling some pretty young lady one has just met would seem to be a very charged situation, one difficult to manage without being preoccupied. But doctors seem to be able to conduct physical exams and treat patients nonetheless. They will also cut people apart with knives and do all kinds of other things that seem not to fit into any reasonable social context. Police officers walk around in public with firearms. All sorts of professionals regularly do necessary things that for most of us would be bizarre and forbidden acts, and I suppose officers of the court generally manage likewise. Maybe this doesn’t always work the way it should, but absent any specific evidence in this case, I am happy believing it worked this time. As for the jury, well, that is harder to say - but if I were on such a jury, and I understood the goal of the court was to reach a verdict in the proper way, untainted by considerations of another case years ago, I would certainly try to do the job correctly. I think most of us here would succeed in answering the question being asked today, accurately and reliably. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/56 "2008-12-07T23:33:43Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > (I read on another board that supposedly Fred Goldman once said he hopes his prison cell looks out over a golf course.) I’m imagining Mr. Goldman teeing up outside the prison and knocking a bucket of balls over the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/57 "2008-12-08T00:27:45Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’m happy. I think Simpson is a menace to society, and an arrogant and contemptable one at that. > > I think he must have committed those murders, regret that he was acquitted, and think he deserves prison for that. But I don’t like the idea of his being convicted today to avenge those murders. > > Courts are supposed to be able to judge one crime without being preoccupied with another crime, and I am inclined to think that they typically achieve this goal. Most often, I think, judges and other agents of the courts try to do what they are supposed to. In this case, however, he did it in full view, and his defense was basically, “This was my stuff!” :rolleyes: Besides, he was not given the maximum sentence, and from what I gather, this judge is known for being a hardass. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/58 "2008-12-08T00:51:57Z")
From millions of dollars, mansions and adoring fans to a prison cell. What a long,long way down. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/59 "2008-12-08T11:32:53Z")
\>…and adoring fans to a prison cell. Hey, he’s been careful to keep in shape, looking good. I think he will still have his adorers close behind. Plus, they say his knees aren’t in such good shape, which would be a major limitation in - ah - defending himself. \>What a long,long way down. Yes. Yes, it is. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892/60 "2008-12-08T12:26:48Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > Wouldn’t that be burglary? You can commit a burglary without a weapon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpson-goes-to-prison-happy-or-not/475892.md?page=4)