Simpson prison time is 'karma'

2008-12-08 21:31

New York - OJ Simpson's rambling apology in a Las Vegas courtroom before his sentencing last week was the last-ditch bid for leniency by a "monster", the family of murder victim Ron Goldman said Monday.

Simpson's October 3 conviction with a co-defendant in the case of his confrontation last year with sports memorabilia dealers came 13 years to the day after he was cleared in a criminal trial in the slaying of Goldman and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

"I don't believe for one single second he has an ounce of remorse in his body," Fred Goldman said on NBC's Today morning talk show.

"He's never apologised for anything that he's horribly done in his life."

Goldman said Simpson's emotional, five-minute plea on Friday was that of "a monster who was simply trying to find a way to get the judge to give him a better deal".

Simpson was sentenced to 9 to 33 years in prison on 12 charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, in the confrontation over collectibles that the former football star insisted were stolen from him.

In a 1997 civil trial, Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Goldman and his ex-wife and was ordered to pay a $33.5m judgment to the victims' families.

Ron Goldman's sister, Kim Goldman, called Simpson's Las Vegas sentencing a "good day for us. ... It's been a long time coming".

- AP