OJ Simpson Loses Appeal For A Retrial, Again – Texas Supreme Court Judges Uphold Lower Court’s Decision Of Conviction

OJ Simpson has once again lost his appeal for a retrial. The Nevada Supreme Court flatly rejected the former football star’s appeal and upheld his previous conviction by a lower court.

NFL Hall of Fame member and former television as well as movie star OJ Simpson’s latest appeal pertaining to his conviction in 2008 kidnapping and armed robbery case was turned down by a three-member Nevada Supreme Court panel. In its 16-page order, the panel categorically mentioned they didn’t find anything wrong with the lower court’s decision. The notation, jointly penned by Judges Ron Parraguire, Michael Douglas and Michael Cherry read as follows.

“We… conclude the district court did not err in denying these claims.”

Though Simpson wasn’t present at the trial and did not testify, his lawyers argued that Clark County District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell shouldn’t have denied a new trial. OJ Simpson is currently serving nine to 33 years for a hotel room heist that went wrong.

During his second appeal for a retrial, his lawyers maintained that his earlier trial attorney handled his case incompetently and had conflict of interest that prevented him from representing his client in the best of the latter’s interest. They attempted to show how his multiple convictions and sentences for assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery with use of a deadly weapon, constitute double-jeopardy. His current lawyers pointed out that his earlier attorney should have, but didn’t, challenge his multiple convictions and punishments. Moreover, the jury should have been appealed to, to consider kidnapping and theft offenses, which carry a much lesser sentence.

OJ Simpson, 68, is currently serving his sentence in a northern Nevada prison. He was convicted after a jury found him guilty of multiple felonies for leading five other men in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel, reported ESPN. Many of the men that OJ Simpson asked to accompany wriggled out of lengthy sentences by turning witnesses and claiming they were asked by Simpson to carry guns.

Simpson has always denied he asked his accomplices to carry weapons. He has maintained that all he wanted was to retrieve items stolen from him. But the judges categorically mentioned that they reviewed the entire court record and determined there was overwhelming evidence that Simpson orchestrated the armed kidnapping and robbery, reported KPHO.

With majority of the people who accompanied OJ Simpson on that particular day being out of jail, it is only the former athlete who is serving time.

[Image Credit | Ethan Miller / Getty Images]