(AFP) – Dec 4, 2008

LAS VEGAS (AFP) — Former American football legend O.J. Simpson could be handed a tough jail term Friday when he goes back to court for sentencing after being convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping.

Prosecutors have recommended 18-year sentences each for Simpson, 61, and his co-accused Clarence Stewart, 54, found guilty in October of 12 charges relating to an armed robbery of sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas hotel.

Simpson's conviction came 13 years to the day after he was acquitted in an earlier trial of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman.

Although kidnapping charges carry a maximum life sentence, observers believe Judge Jackie Glass will impose substantially lower the terms, in part because of Simpson's age.

"Maximum possible sentences are rarely given in this country, even when it's someone you don't like, and the judge clearly doesn't like O.J. Simpson," said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor.

"If you step back from the crime, this was not the crime of the century. And you can't sentence him as if he got off for murder."

The Las Vegas jury found Simpson guilty of storming into a hotel room in September 2007 with a gang of gun-toting cohorts and seizing sports memorabilia from two dealers worth thousands of dollars.

Simpson, who did not testify during his three-week trial and has been in custody since his conviction, said in interviews after his arrest he had only been recovering personal items stolen from his trophy room, and said he was unaware that his cohorts were armed.

However, four of Simpson's accomplices struck plea deals and testified against the sports star during his trial, which played out in low-key contrast to his circus-like 1995 "Trial of the Century."

Attorneys for both Simpson and Stewart have vowed to appeal the convictions.

Simpson's lawyers argued detectives had rushed to judgement from early on in the case, and said prosecution witnesses, including the victims, could not be trusted because they had sold their stories to the media.

They have also complained about the jury selection which left no African-Americans on the panel. And they charge that judge Glass engaged in theatrics during the trial, berating attorneys and witnesses, sighing and waving her hands in disgust.

Las Vegas criminal defense attorney David Chesnoff said Stewart might have a better case for appeal, as his lawyers had asked from the start for a separate trial in order not to be associated with Simpson's notoriety.

"There are some issues on severance for Mr. Stewart that the Nevada Supreme Court has been sensitive to in the past," said Chesnoff, who has represented Martha Stewart and Mike Tyson among other celebrity clients.

"I saw a great deal of the trial, I didn't see any egregious errors by the judge. She knows the rules of evidence."

One of the most famous American football players of his generation during a glittering 1970s career, Simpson was the prime suspect in the 1994 brutal murders.

Nicole, who had divorced Simpson in 1992 citing his "abusive behavior," was attacked so savagely she was almost decapitated.

Simpson, who has always vehemently denied the killings, was acquitted after a racially charged Los Angeles trial in 1995, a verdict that was greeted with widespread outrage across America.

Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages to the victims' families totaling 33.5 million dollars. He has repeatedly said he will not pay the settlement.

So there is likely to be more legal action on who the sports memorabilia Simpson was trying to take belongs to.

"There's going to have to be a separate hearing regarding the disposition of the property," said Levenson.

"Some of the property the Goldmans have a claim to. Some of the property belonged to the victims. And some if it may rightfully belong to O.J. Simpson, so it would go back to his family."

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