It was a bad few minutes for O.J. Simpson late on a Friday evening in early October, when 12 angry jurors unanimously pronounced him guilty of kidnapping and robbery and a Las Vegas judge instantly ordered him handcuffed and taken to jail. And it's been a bad nine weeks for him since then, sitting alone in a small cell in the Clark County Jail awaiting the next step in the legal process.
But on Friday morning, it will be much worse.
With his legs shackled in irons and his hands chained to his sides, Simpson, in a dark blue prison jumpsuit, will stand before District Court Judge Jackie Glass as she pronounces his sentence.
Glass, a jurist with a flair for the melodramatic, is likely to begin with a stern lecture. And she is likely to end with a prison sentence that will keep the 61-year-old Simpson behind bars in Nevada for 18 years and possibly more.
Court probation officials have been investigating Simpson for weeks, preparing a recommendation that will be a critical factor in Judge Glass' decision. In most cases, probation officials are inclined to suggest sentences that are more lenient. But according to recently filed court documents, the probation officers in Simpson's case are suggesting a sentence of 18 years. Even worse, it will be 18 years of actual incarceration before there can be any consideration of parole.
[+] EnlargeDaniel Gluskoter/AFP/Getty Images
This was a bad moment for O.J. Simpson. He'd just heard the guilty verdict. Friday morning likely holds another bad moment for him.
Even Simpson's lawyers acknowledge that the best possible outcome for Simpson would be six years in the penitentiary before any possibility of parole.
Within a day or two after he is sentenced, Simpson will be taken to High Desert, a Nevada prison facility about an hour's drive from Las Vegas, where he will be evaluated for assignment to a penitentiary. The evaluation includes physical, dental and psychological examinations, and will take three weeks.
Nevada prison officials refuse to discuss where Simpson might be assigned, but numerous reports indicate that he will be sent to a maximum security prison in Ely, Nev. And that could make his life even worse. It houses a concentration of incarcerated members of the Aryan Warriors, a white supremacist gang that reportedly manages its operation in part from within the prison walls.
But on Friday morning, it will be much worse.
With his legs shackled in irons and his hands chained to his sides, Simpson, in a dark blue prison jumpsuit, will stand before District Court Judge Jackie Glass as she pronounces his sentence.
Glass, a jurist with a flair for the melodramatic, is likely to begin with a stern lecture. And she is likely to end with a prison sentence that will keep the 61-year-old Simpson behind bars in Nevada for 18 years and possibly more.
Court probation officials have been investigating Simpson for weeks, preparing a recommendation that will be a critical factor in Judge Glass' decision. In most cases, probation officials are inclined to suggest sentences that are more lenient. But according to recently filed court documents, the probation officers in Simpson's case are suggesting a sentence of 18 years. Even worse, it will be 18 years of actual incarceration before there can be any consideration of parole.
[+] EnlargeDaniel Gluskoter/AFP/Getty Images
This was a bad moment for O.J. Simpson. He'd just heard the guilty verdict. Friday morning likely holds another bad moment for him.
Even Simpson's lawyers acknowledge that the best possible outcome for Simpson would be six years in the penitentiary before any possibility of parole.
Within a day or two after he is sentenced, Simpson will be taken to High Desert, a Nevada prison facility about an hour's drive from Las Vegas, where he will be evaluated for assignment to a penitentiary. The evaluation includes physical, dental and psychological examinations, and will take three weeks.
Nevada prison officials refuse to discuss where Simpson might be assigned, but numerous reports indicate that he will be sent to a maximum security prison in Ely, Nev. And that could make his life even worse. It houses a concentration of incarcerated members of the Aryan Warriors, a white supremacist gang that reportedly manages its operation in part from within the prison walls.
now thats funny no matter who you are... 
