OJ is moving for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. His chances? Somewhere between slim and none.
Via NY Post:
After 4 1/2 years behind bars, battling weight gain and depression, O.J. Simpson is hopeful freedom is just around the corner.
In a series of exclusive jailhouse conversations, including a 30-minute video chat last week, an upbeat Juice told a Post source he was cautiously optimistic and ready to start a new life on the outside.
In a move sure to infuriate the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, whom Simpson was acquitted of killing after a spectacular trial, that new life will include a planned college speaking tour to earn money.
The tour will address both the murder case and the 2008 conviction for kidnapping and armed robbery of a sports-memorabilia dealer, a decision Simpson blames on racism.
“I feel like I’m back in the ’50s — a black man in a white justice system,” he said of the Nevada jury. “I looked into their eyes and I knew they would convict me.”
Last week, the NFL Hall-of-Famer and onetime actor held up his shackles during a video phone call from the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas. “I don’t like this vibe. I feel like I’m back on ‘Roots’!” he told The Post source.
As early as tomorrow, Judge Linda Marie Bell could overturn Simpson’s conviction for attacking a memorabilia dealer and order a retrial, or even set him free with credit for time already served.
“I like Judge Bell. She’s not trying to be a movie star,” Simpson said, in a dig at Judge Jackie Glass, who sentenced him to up to 33 years in prison after his 2008 trial and then went on to host the syndicated TV show “Swift Justice.”
“She [Bell] is straightforward business, so I feel I’ll get a fair shake.”