Jurors say tapes convicted Simpson

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Tapes, not witnesses, convicted former football star O.J. Simpson, jurors in his Las Vegas robbery-kidnapping trial said.

"We honestly felt we could not rely on that witness testimony," said Michelle R. Lyons, one of seven jurors who spoke to news outlets, including CNN, in Las Vegas Sunday. "There was not one decision we made that was based only on witness testimony."

The nine-woman, three-man jury found Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart guilty Friday of 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon. Simpson, 61, faces a possible life sentence stemming from a Las Vegas hotel room confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers last year.

Jury foreman Paul Connelly said some prosecution witnesses didn't seem reliable; at least three former Simpson co-defendants agreed to testify for lesser sentences.

Several jurors said audiotapes of the incident and conversations between Simpson and others recorded surreptitiously before, during and after the heist made the prosecution's case, CNN reported.

Without the tape, juror Dora Pettit said, "It would have been a weak case."

Simpson's defense team indicated it would appeal the conviction, partly because some jurors indicated during jury selection they disagreed with a 1995 verdict in which he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

Simpson and Stewart are to be sentenced Dec. 5.