of phil spector gets 19 years to life for lana clarkson's death

Spector gets 19 years to life for Clarkson's death: Music producer Phil Spector has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.


Phil Spector Mugshot [photo via Blemish]

Six years ago, Phil Spector was barely a blip on the American celebrity radar screen. Although his music lived on, his name and face were only dimly recalled by rock music aficionados until a shooting at his Alhambra mansion propelled him to notoriety.

Now he faces sentencing Friday on second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson, a conviction that suggests to some that California prosecutors have broken a decades-long string of celebrity murder case losses. The names O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake come to mind.

Lana Clarkson "Babarian Queen" [photo via Bitten and Bound]

Bitten and Bound reports,

Spector was sentenced on May 29, 2009 to 19 years for killing Clarkson. He will be eligible for parole when he is 88 years old. On hand to witness the formal sentencing was Lana Clarkson’s mother Donna Clarkson. She accepted a $17,000 check from Spector’s lawyer to pay for her daughter’s funeral expenses - as mandated by Judge Larry Paul Fidler. Also in the courtroom was aspiring singer and actress Rachelle Short, who has been married to Spector since September 2006.

Some resemblance between Lana Clarkson and Spector's wife Rachelle Short [photo via Bitten and Bound]