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Old Reb:
I don't think wealth alone will keep you out of prison -- I know during my four year tour of the Federal Gulag -- I met a number of wealthy guys doing long prison terms, like a lawyer cellmate of mine that had over ten million in the bank.
In the case of O.J. Simpson what saved his cowardly rear end was his lawyers playing the race card. Also, it helped to have a space cadet for a judge, and a jury of mostly ghetto blacks easily convinced of racism on the part of police.
Another factor in O.J. Simpson's favor was the fact that the case was tried in a State Court. I can assure you that in a Federal Court the circus like atmosphere would not have been allowed (The Feds learned their lesson well in the Abbie Hoffman Chicago 7 trial in 1969 in which a Federal Court was turned into a sideshow). Also, TV cameras or cameras of any type are strictly forbidden in a Federal Courtroom.
BTW the conviction rate at the Federal level is 99.3%..After my trial I asked my lawyer about the other .07% and he said: "Most of those guys die of natural causes during the trial."
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