This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22544388
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
OJ Simpson testifies in courtroom bid for freedom | OJ Simpson testifies in courtroom bid for freedom |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Former football star and actor OJ Simpson is testifying at a Nevada court hearing on his request for a new trial in an armed robbery case. | Former football star and actor OJ Simpson is testifying at a Nevada court hearing on his request for a new trial in an armed robbery case. |
Simpson, 65, convicted in 2008 of a Las Vegas hotel robbery of what he said was stolen personal memorabilia, said he did not knowingly break the law. | |
He is currently serving a nine to 33-year sentence over the 2007 incident. | |
Simpson was famously acquitted of the murder of his former wife and her friend in Los Angeles in 1995. | |
The current five-day hearing seeks to determine if Simpson's complaints of ineffective representation by his original lawyer, Yale Galanter, will win him a new trial. | |
'No talk of guns' | |
Simpson's new lawyer said earlier his client was "excited about telling his story". | |
The former star NFL running back turned actor was accompanied by five other men as he tried to reclaim family pictures and footballs peddled by sport memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. | |
Simpson - who appeared older and heavier after five years behind bars - said from the witness box on Wednesday that he had only tried to reclaim what he believed were stolen goods. | |
"It was my stuff. I followed what I thought was the law," he told the court. "I didn't break into anybody's room and didn't attack or muscle anyone." | |
During the incident, two of the men with Simpson carried guns. | |
"There was no talk of guns at all," Simpson told the Nevada court, saying he did not ask anyone to bring weapons. | |
He was also asked about his relationship with former defence lawyer Mr Galanter, who Simpson says was ineffectual at the trial. | |
He claims Mr Galanter had a personal interest in keeping private his own advice to Simpson. | |
"Yale had a good relationship with the media," said Simpson. "I was in the media a lot. He was able to refute many of the tabloid stories." | |
Mr Galanter, according to Simpson, had repeatedly assured him that he could take back items related to his sporting career - items Simpson believed had been stolen - as long as no-one trespassed and no force was used. | Mr Galanter, according to Simpson, had repeatedly assured him that he could take back items related to his sporting career - items Simpson believed had been stolen - as long as no-one trespassed and no force was used. |
The lawyer also convinced the football player not to testify at his own trial and did not mention a plea deal from prosecutors that would have reduced his prison sentence, Simpson said. | |
The court has already heard testimony from Mr Galanter's co-counsel, Gabriel Grasso. Mr Grasso has testified that it was Mr Galanter's decision for Simpson not to testify. | |
The lawyer also accused Mr Galanter of lining his own pockets, while telling him the "shoestring" defence could not afford to hire expert witnesses. | |
Simpson is expected to answer questions from his legal team on each of the 19 points in support of his request. | |
He is then set to face cross-examination from government lawyers who want to keep him in prison. | |
Back in 1995, in what was dubbed the trial of the century, Simpson was acquitted of the stabbing murders a year earlier of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. | |
A civil jury in a wrongful death lawsuit later found him liable for their deaths, awarding their families $33.5m (£22m) in damages. |