Much confusion over the O.J. sentences. Media reports have it all over the place from a six years to as much as 33 with parole eligibiltiy in a decade.
Why the confusion? In sentencing him on the 12 charges he was convicted of by a jury, hanging judge Jackie Glass sentenced him to a complex series of concurrent and consecutive sentences.
In the U.S., unlike Canada, criminals often get consecutive sentences. That means if you are found guilty on two charges, one for eight years and the other for 10, then you are serving 18 years as the sentences follow each other. With concurrent sentences, however, they overlap and you serve the longest.
However, you also have to factor in parole eligibility and then it's a real mess. the Associated Press seems to have the best take on it, at least until the lawyers sort it out. They quote the judge's clerk as saying it could be a maximum of 33 years, but eligible for parole after nine.
Guess that's better than had he been convicted in his murder trial, where he could have faced the death penalty. Though at 61, 33 years is essentially a death sentence.http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/legalpost/archive/2008/12/05/concurrent-sentences-a-confused-mess-for-o-j.aspx
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