O.J. on ice

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Posted By: Dave S

Scott,

It is what it is, politcally correct or not. Once again, is it schadenfreude for OJ because everyone thinks he got away with murder, or did he step over the line using self-help trying to get his stolen stuff back that some back-room memorabilia dealers were peddling?

Here is the top result, with headline from Yahoo news:

All-white jury seated in OJ Simpson kidnapping case Fri Sep 12, 6:29 AM ET


LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - An all-white jury of 12 was chosen to decide the fate of OJ Simpson who faces trial on kidnapping and armed robbery charges that could see the former football star jailed for life.

Simpson, 61, faces 12 charges stemming from a confrontation in a hotel room in September last year after which he and a gang of gun-toting cohorts left with pillow cases stuffed full of sports memorabilia.

In the state of Nevada, kidnapping and armed robbery both carry potential life sentences.

Simpson's latest ordeal comes 13 years after he was acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend.

The process of seating a jury actually began in mid-August when 500 prospective jurors filled out a 26-page questionnaire.

The judge took great pains to separate the current case from Simpson's racially charged murder trial.

She wanted to be sure that the jurors would not be biased against Simpson, who is African-American, and was acquitted of the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, both of whom were white.

"If you are here thinking you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in Los Angeles in 1995 this is not the case for you," Glass said Monday.

"I mean really, truly, folks," Glass said. "I'm not kidding around. Can you put that aside and understand that the case we are trying here and the info you're going to hear about here is totally separate from that case?"

In Nevada trial, Simpson and a group of associates allegedly stormed a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino, brandishing weapons, to retrieve memorabilia largely related to the former football star's sporting career that he has insisted was stolen from him.

Simpson has insisted he did not know that anyone had guns and said he never saw weapons. Four of the gang, including the two who carried firearms, have struck plea agreements with prosecutors for reduced prison sentences in exchange for their testimony against Simpson.

Opening statements were expected to begin Monday.

Simpson, a football Hall of Fame inductee, also was a television advertising pitchman and Hollywood comic film actor before the 1994 murders.