AP Photo/John Locher, PoolO.J. Simpson's defense team doesn't want the Juice squeezed too tight.
The infamous footballer's lawyers have requested the bare minimum sentence for the litany of robbery and kidnapping convictions Simpson faces in the wake of his memorabilia heist, asking that he receive six years in prison rather than officials' recommended 18 years in the slammer.
"Simpson has never previously been convicted of a crime," the 61-year-old's attorney, Gabriel Grasso, said in court papers. "Thus, he now stands before the court as a first-time offender."
In the court, yes. In the court of public opinion, not even close.
Grasso went on to call the 18-year proposal, made in separate sealed court papers by probation officials, "completely inappropriate" and a "knee-jerk recommendation."
Six years in the slammer, on the other hand, "would be a sufficient reflection of both the nature of the case as well as the first-time offender status of the defendant."
Both Simpson and his codefendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, will face sentencing on their charges—11 felonies, all told—tomorrow. They could face life in prison.