Phil Spector sentenced to 19 years in prison

The end to famed producer Phil Spector’s six-year saga came to an end today. After recently being found guilty for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, Judge Larry Fidler sentenced Spector to 19 years to life in prison today. The judge also ruled that Spector must pay the Clarkson family $17,000 as compensation for Lana’s funeral costs.

It has taken six years and two trials for Spector to be convicted. The first trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial in September 2007. In Spector’s second trial, the prosecution painted a picture of Spector as a misogynist with a “history of playing Russian roulette with the lives of women” (as reported by The Las Angeles Times). The jury found him guilty in April of 2009.

On the night of February 3rd, 2003, Spector took Clarkson, who was working as a hostess at L.A.’s House of Blues, home with him. Clarkson was later found dead with a bullet in her head. Spector reportedly told his chauffer “I think I killed somebody” immediately after the shooting.

Spector is a renowned producer, best known for his work on the Beatles’ Let It Be, George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and John Lennon’s Imagine.

Judge Fidler denied Spector’s request for a new trial, though Spector’s lawyer vowed that he would file an appeal.



-Laurie Moot

Currently listening to: "Ten Women," by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band



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