O.J. Simpson statement before sentencing

Your honor, I stand before you today sorry. Somewhat confused. I feel, like, apologetic to the people of the state of Nevada. I've been coming to Nevada since 1959. I worked summer jobs for my uncle in '60 and '61, and I've been coming ever since, and I've never gotten into any trouble. People have always been fine to me.

When I came here, I came here for a wedding. I didn't come here to (inaudible). I didn't come here to reclaim property. I was told it was here. When he told me that Monday, that the stuff was in Nevada when he heard nobody was going to be in Nevada, I called my kids. I talked to my sisters. I called the Brown family and I told them I had a chance to get some of our property back. Property that over the years we've seen being sold on the Internet. Uhh. We've seen pictures of ours that were stolen from our home going into the, uh, tabloids.

We've called the police and asked what to do. They've told us what to try to do, but you can never find out who was selling it, and this was the first time I had an opportunity to catch the guys red-handed who had been stealing from my family.

I knew these guys. I did think Mike Gilbert was, would be, there and I know as they'd told me, the two guys there, that he was the one who did it. But I have no hatred for Mike Gilbert. In the past, as we know, as you heard on the tape, Mike Gilbert tried to set me up in a porn video, tricked me into a room with hidden cameras and they still wrote in the newspaper and tabloids, they still had cover stories that OJ did it even though there was no porn video. Even though I didn't participate in it.

I think 'Hey Mike.' I yelled at him. And I think 'Hey' just like I yelled at Bruce and Beardson (cq) and I've forgiven them. We've talked about it, Beardsley and I the next day, and, uh, Bruce and I hugged, have talked about it. His kids called me the next day. We've apologized to each other.

The only person I asked I requested to help me here was Mr. Stewart. I did request it. I needed his car, I asked him if he had some guys that could help me remove these things from the room. I didn't ask anybody to do anything but to stand behind me allow me to yell at these guys and then help me remove those things. If they didn't allow me to remove them, we would call the cops on them.

I felt that they were wrong. They had internal orders and they had internal (inaudible) some of these things that were both garnishable and things that were not garnishable. I didn't want them, to yell at them like they misinterpreted (inaudible) in the previous trial, said that I didn't ask them to yell at anybody. Unfortunately they did and I believe it was my fault because I brought them there. I knew the character of a couple of the guys that were there and it was my fault that they were there.

But in no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anyone. I spoke to Bruce before I left the room. He told me what was his and I called him when I got to the car and said exactly what do you have, I want to send it back to you.

I talked to the police officers. I volunteered immediately to come back, show them what was taken and tell them what took place before anybody talked to police. I was the first guy that volunteered to do it. And I heard on the tapes they thought I was stupid for doing it. But I didn't want to steal anything from anybody. I don't think anybody dare said that I wanted anybody else's stuff, just my own.

I wanted my daughter, who, Miss Brown gave her her mother's wedding ring. Stolen. You know, my kids had pictures. My oldest son is married now and has his own family and he wants the picture in the Oval Office with Gerald Ford when he was 5 years old. Stolen. All of these things were gone.

My family knew what we were doing. And I don't want to hurt Bruce. I didn't want to hurt any of these guys. I know these guys. These guys have eaten in my home. I've done book reports with their kids. I've sung to their mothers when they were sick. You know, I wasn't there to hurt anyone. I just wanted my personal things and I realize that was stupid of me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody and I didn't know I was doing anything illegal.

I thought I was confronting friends and retrieving my property. So I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it. Look, all the other guys except Mr. Stewart volunteered they wanted to go. Mr. Stewart was the only guy that I asked would he come to help me. All the rest of them, when they found out, they volunteered. 'Come on let us go.' One of them wanted to be the security guy. He claimed he was a security guy. But I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I didn't mean to steal from anybody. Thank you.