Today was the day;
Phil Spector Sentenced to 19 Years to Life
LOS ANGELES -- Music producer Phil Spector has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
A Los Angeles judge sentenced Spector on Friday to 15 years to life for second-degree murder and four years for personal use of a gun. He would be 88 before he would be eligible for parole.
The judge also ordered Spector to pay more than $16,000 in funeral expenses and more than $9,000 to a state victim's assistance fund.
The 69-year-old music producer stared impassively at the judge as he spoke.
Spector was convicted of second degree murder in April in connection with the shooting death of Clarkson in 2003.
Spector continues to maintain he didn't do it and says he's not responsible for her death.
Before the imposition of the sentencing the victim's mother, Donna Clarkson, told the judge she was heartbroken by the death of her daughter.
"All our plans together are destroyed. Now I can only visit her in the cemetery," she said.
Spector's attorney said the defense sympathized with the family "with its loss." But attorney Doron Weinberg maintained that Spector was convicted wrongly.
"The evidence did not establish Mr. Spector's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the lawyer said.
His attorney asked that he be transferred immediately from county jail to a state prison. It was not immediately known which prison Spector would be assigned.
Spector's young wife, who is in her late 20s, also was in court.
"This is a sad day for everybody involved," Rachelle Spector said. "The Clarkson family has lost a daughter and a sister. I've lost my husband, my best friend. I feel that a grave injustice has been done and from this day forward I'm going to dedicate myself to proving my husband's innocence."
Spector's son Louis, accompanied by his wife, also came to the sentencing. He had attended much of the trial.
"I'm torn about this," he said. "I'm losing my father who is going to spend his life in jail. At the same time, justice is served."
Spector gained fame decades ago for what became known as the "Wall of Sound" recording technique that changed rock music.
Clarkson was most famous as the star of Roger Corman's 1985 cult film classic "Barbarian Queen." She was 40 when she died.
Spector plans an appeal.
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