BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced today to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted, "Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!" When the Iraqi High Tribunal read the verdict, no one was happier than teary-eyed O. J. Simpson, sitting in the third row of the visitor's gallery of the courtroom. Simpson let out a noticeable gasp and for an instant looked unsteady on his feet. Then he flashed a smile and mouthed "thank you, thank you" to the judges on the Tribunal. He turned and hugged Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey, who were sitting with him.
Simpson spoke briefly with reporters on his way out of the courthouse and explained that ever since his acquittal in 1995 for the brutal murder of his wife, he has traveled the world to insure that justice is done to those responsible for atrocities against innocent people.
Actor Robert Blake and entertainer Michael Jackson, sitting together in the last row of the visitors' gallery, also hugged each other and mouthed "thank you" to the judges.
