Jurors disagreed with Simpson's 1995 acquittal

updated 10:21 p.m. ET Oct. 4, 2008

LAS VEGAS - In a city where luck means everything, O.J. Simpson came out the big loser — and his unlucky number in a case full of bizarre twists was 13. He was convicted of an armed robbery that happened on Sept. 13 and was found guilty on the 13th anniversary of his Los Angeles murder acquittal. The Las Vegas jury deliberated for 13 hours after a 13-day trial.

But now it's been revealed that several of those jurors have said they disagreed with that murder acquittal.

Jury questionnaires released Saturday show that five of the 12 jurors disagreed with the 1995 verdict that cleared Simpson of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles.

Most others claimed to be uncertain or did not answer the question. All jurors said they could set aside their feelings.

The judge in the robbery case released edited versions of the questionnaires.

Simpson was convicted late Friday of all counts in a botched hotel-room heist a year ago.

Then, as only the racking sobs of Simpson’s sister broke the courtroom silence, the lights went out.

Court marshals flipped on flashlights and shouted for everyone to stay seated. Only the judge knew what had happened. It was 11 p.m. and the courthouse lights had shut down automatically.

“Timed out,” Judge Jackie Glass said in a fitting epitaph for the story of O.J. Simpson.

The 61-year-old Hall of Fame football star was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges for gathering five men a year ago and storming into a room at a hotel-casino, where the group seized several game balls, plaques and photos. Prosecutors said two of the men with him were armed; one of them said Simpson asked him to bring a gun.

Simpson could face life behind bars
Once convicted, Simpson, the sports-idol-turned-celebrity-pariah, was handcuffed and led from the room with his co-defendant, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart. They could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Video   Legal analysts review the case Oct. 4: O.J. Simpson found guilty 13 years after the former football star was acquitted of double murder. MSNBC

“There is justice,” said attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the family of his slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. “Justice was delayed, but in this case it was not denied. Now that he may spend the rest of his life in prison, the law, and not O.J. Simpson, will have the last word.”

Still, many of those in the courtroom couldn’t believe the verdicts. Simpson’s sister, Carmelita Durio, fainted. The sister of Tom Scotto, whose wedding precipitated the hotel confrontation, wailed. His wife, Sabrina, wept.

Some observers said the Las Vegas case paled in comparison to the “trial of the century” in 1995, a yearlong opus in which Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.

A rapt nation followed the Los Angeles trial. Tales of a gruesome murder and a bloody glove, as well as the celebrity defendant, drew a media frenzy.

In Las Vegas, Simpson’s fate played out in a small courtroom dotted with empty seats. Even the stunning verdict came as most of America slept, oblivious to the irony that Simpson might spend the rest of his life in prison for what most perceived as a petty crime, a tussle among middle-aged men.

Simpson’s Las Vegas defense tried to tell the jury that the two cases had nothing to do with each other, but it was a losing battle.

“I don’t know that one trial cancels out the other,” said Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson, who attended Simpson’s murder trial. “People will always be troubled by O.J. For the people troubled by the Los Angeles acquittal, this case will make small amends. Saying finally there is justice, at least from a legal perspective, is very crude way of looking at justice.”

She predicted that Stewart, 54, will have a strong chance for reversal on appeal because he was forced to stand trial beside Simpson.

“O.J. was toxic, and he has been toxic since 1994, and this jury was just ready to clean up the mess,” Levenson said.

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