O.J. Simpson convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery, faces life in prison

Accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room, Simpson was pronounced "guilty" to all 12 charges, including conspiracy, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon, by a panel of jurors in the Clark County District Court and now, he and his friend Clarence "C.J." Stewart, each face mandatory minimum penalties of five years in prison but could end up with life terms.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 5. Simpson, who was "deeply disappointed" and "extremely upset and extremely emotional" with the verdict, is expected to appeal. Yale Galanter, his lead attorney, made clear that the selection process, which ended with no blacks in the jury, was one of the issues they would challenge.

The verdict came after the jury of nine women and three men heard 12 days of testimony and deliberated for 13 hours. Five of the 12 jurors said that they disagreed with the verdict. Jury questionnaires released on Saturday showed that some of them felt that the media hype and publicity surrounding the trial made it difficult for them to concentrate on the case on hand while others said they disagreed with the 1995 verdict that cleared Simpson of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. However, all jurors said they could set aside their feelings and decide the case based on facts.

Prosecutors alleged Simpson planned - and Stewart helped carry out - a plot to retrieve personal items and memorabilia of Simpson's that the prosecution charged he had given away to two sports- memorabilia dealers to avoid handing them over to Goldman's family - which would have satisfied part of a $33.5 million civil wrongful death verdict levied in 1997 by a California court. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted in Los Angeles of criminal charges that he murdered his ex-wife and her friend.

Four men who accompanied Simpson, Stewart and a middleman to the Palace Station Casino hotel for the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation, later pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. Thomas Riccio, the man who arranged and secretly recorded the meeting, testified under immunity from prosecution.

During the closing arguments of the trial, the prosecution said Simpson recruited a pack of burly men to pull off an armed robbery and kidnapping in a Las Vegas hotel room, but Galanter said his client was a victim of witnesses with ulterior motives and police who were out to get him.

Galanter acknowledged that attempting to steal back personal items from the memorabilia dealers at gunpoint is not the right thing to do. "Doing this on your own, going into this room, trying to recover stolen property, is not right. It's just not," he said.

"But being stupid, and being frustrated is not being a crook," he argued.

Galanter said his client became a target for prosecutors because of who he is, because of his past.