O.J. Simpson dodged the bullet, or needle, for allegedly killing his wife and her friend. But he faces 15 years in prison today after being sentenced for an armed robbery that happened in a Las Vegas hotel room.
It is likely a hollow victory for the Browns and Goldmans, whose daughter and son were the victims in the 1994 murder for which Simpson was acquitted. Likewise, those many, many Americans who believed Simpson should have been convicted should not feel as justice was served in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman with today’s sentencing. All of this raises a point regarding the public’s perception of punishment.
The purpose of punishing crime is in a great part helping the public feel as if justice is served. For many, a prison sentence is justice served with respect to a particular case. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work when you look at putting someone away for a crime when that crime is not the one a person would liked to have seen the defendant pay for. I’m sure some would argue with me. But in reality that’s the way our legal system works.
Nonetheless, a true narcissistic knucklehead who convicted a crime with weapons is going off the streets for awhile. That should make any law-abiding citizen have a little faith in the system.
Oh by the way, I always thought it was kind of strange that the popular soul group The O’Jays had that in the early 1970s titled “Back Stabbers.”