[Archive 2009-05-30] Nineteen-year sentence for murder handed down to music producer Phil Spector

Historical archive — originally published 2009-05-30. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Music producer Phil Spector has been sentenced to life imprisonment, of which he will serve a minimum of nineteen years in prison. This for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson who was shot through the mouth in Spector's Los Angeles home in 2003.

The 69-year-old man had spent two trials and millions of dollars before conviction, with his defense being the claim Clarkson had killed herself due to depression. Spector's chauffeur testified he heard a gunshot before Spector told him "I think I killed somebody" and five separate woman said Spector had previously threatened them with guns.

Spector had a previous conviction for brandishing a gun in the 1970s, and received probation at the time. In addition to the mandatory 15 years imprisonment for second-degree murder he will spend another four years in jail due to the use of a firearm, making him 88 when he is eligible for parole. He was also ordered to pay over $26,000 restitution costs.

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