Jailed record producer Phil Spector is going to appeal his sentence for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
The appeal will come on the grounds of “judicial error” and “misconduct by prosecutors”, denying him the right to a fair trial.Spector’s lawyers will claim the testimony of five women were improperly used to damage Spector’s character. The women told tales of Spector threatening them at gunpoint in instances dating back to the 70s, but the producer’s lawyers claim their testimony was inadmissible by law due to not being comparable to Clarkson’s death.
They’re also going for another tact, stating "Under California law, a judge may not offer evidence in a trial over which he presides.” They claim it was unlawful for the jury that convicted Spector to be played a tape of the original court hearing in which the judge came to his own conclusions regarding the blood splatter on Clarkson’s body.
The original hearing was dismissed after a jury could not reach a unanimous decision.
Spector is currently serving a sentence of 15 years to life for Clarkson’s murder, and a four year sentence for having an illicit firearm on his property. If his appeal is successful, he will still remain behind bars until the four years are served in 2013.
The 70 year old producer was the creative force behind iconic songs such as ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ by Ike and Tina Turner, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ by The Righteous Brothers and ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ by The Ronettes just to name a few.
In the 70s he worked with The Beatles, The Ramones and Blondie.
Follow the author Tim Cashmere on Twitter.
