NEW YORK - I have been defending O.J. Simpson for the last dozen years. Not because I think he's a good guy. I really don't know. I don't even know if he murdered those people all those years ago. And honestly neither do you. Not really. That's between him and his god.

O.J. Simpson in prison blues

Nor do we know what O.J. was thinking when he went into that hotel room last year and left with thousands of dollars worth of stuff. But here's what I do know: If O.J. Simpson hadn't been one of those men in the room that night, this case never would have happened.

Because Beardsley and Fromong, the two victims in the case, they never would have called the cops. Al Beardsley was in violation of his parole just by being in Vegas. And Fromong, he knew, or should have known that at least some of the stuff was stolen. So why risk calling the cops? To cash in. Now, Beardsley has all but said he wishes he hadn't called the police. He said right here on this program that he wished the whole thing would go away. But it didn't.

And now O.J. will likely do his 9 years. C.J. Stewart, in the wrong place at the wrong time, will serve almost 8. And these guys, the rollover defendants, the guys who carried the guns, they will do not one day in jail, just because they rolled first in this game of high stakes poker. Hind sight is 20/20, but looks like O.J. and C.J. should have taken a deal. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Instead they rolled the dice and lost.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK - The verdict is in. Steven Rios. Guilty of murder. And if you watch Best Defense with any frequency, here's something you will be surprised to hear me say: This defendant probably guilty. That's right. Guilty.

Steven Rios was convicted of second degree murder

Assuming the forensics folks were telling the truth, the hair found on the victim, Jesse Valencia, was arm hair, not chest hair. And the roots were attached. And that suggests a struggle, not intimacy. It suggests a chokehold and the victim pulling at the perpetrator’s arm to get him off. And since the hairs belong to Steve Rios, that would make him the perpetrator.

But here's the thing. Even though Steven Rios is probably not innocent, I don't think he's guilty as a matter of law. Because those hairs are the best evidence this prosecution had. And those same forensics folks stopped testing the other evidence once they got a match between the victim and their suspect, Steve Rios.

Problem with that? Well, of course there would be a match. The men were lovers. I say, if you are going to take away a man's freedom, the least you can do is test all the evidence. Pursue all the leads. Consider all the suspects. It’s the least we can do in the interest of justice. And the least we can do wasn't done in this case.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

COLUMBIA, Missouri–After three grueling days of testimony, jurors here are about to receive the case of Steven Rios, a former police officer charged with murdering Jesse Valencia, a college student with whom he had been having a secret affair.

Rios has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in this case, but it is not the first time this case has been tried. Three years ago, another jury convicted Rios of first-degree murder – a conviction later overturned by an appellate-level court. If the defendant is convicted a second time, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

In all, jurors in this second Rios trial heard from a total of 65 separate witnesses – 55 for the prosecution, and 12 for the defense (2 witnesses testified for both sides). On Thursday, the defendant's ex-wife took the stand in her former husband's defense, and both cried through much of her testimony. Elizabeth Sullivan told jurors that she was shocked to learn about her husband's affair and described her husband's reaction to being named a suspect in the crime.

Closing arguments should begin by mid-morning – which means that the sequestered jury should begin its deliberations by sometime this afternoon.

Stay tuned to In Session for live coverage of this case.

–In Session staff

NEW YORK - This year we've done lots of important stories on gay marriage: in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut and elsewhere. That debate rages on in the public interest.

But we've also done some other stories about marriage and gay people that are motivated by a different interest, our prurient interest. Think about it. Jim McGreevy and his wife got a divorce earlier this year. So do lots of other couples. But we were stuck on the McGreevy’s mostly because he is gay. That is what kept his story alive. How much have you heard about the Spitzers after his notorious infidelity. Visiting a prostitute is illegal but that story pretty much died on the vine.

While an affair with a staffer is also a problem, if Mr. McGreevy had not had his affair with a staffer of the same sex, his story would have died too. Instead it lived on for better than three years. Larry Craig's toe tapping, same deal. And Mark Foley with his illicit emails.

What interests us more, their dereliction of duty or their secret gay lifestyle? I'm betting the latter. So too in the Rios case going down in Missouri this week. Yes he's a former police officer. Yes he is charged with murder. But the big headlines are all abut his gay love affair with the victim. And that's the straight scoop on why we care about these cases.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

COLUMBIA, Missouri–The defense in the Missouri murder trial of former police officer Steven Rios is expected to begin today.

Jesse Valencia

Wednesday was another 13-hour marathon day, as Missouri prosecutors continue to call witnesses against Rios, on trial for the brutal 2004 murder of college student Jesse Valencia. The prosecution believes that the married Rios killed Valencia because he feared the latter was about to reveal that the two men had been having a clandestine sexual relationship.

If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Rios has pleaded not guilty.

Several of Wednesday’s witnesses testified that at one time or another they had observed Rios with a clip knife with a serrated edge – a weapon the prosecution believes was the murder weapon - but which Rios denies having ever owned. Another witness told jurors she was alone at Valencia’s apartment one night when Rios unexpectedly showed up. And still another testified that he watched Rios having sex with Valencia less than a month before the murder.

Stay tuned as In Session continues live coverage of this case with correspondent Jean Casarez.

–In Session staff

COLUMBIA, Missouri–The trial of an ex-police officer accused of murdering a man with whom he had a sexual relationship began here Tuesday. In a court session worthy of the Olympics – the trial day extended from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. ET, a full 13 hours – jurors heard from 13 prosecution witnesses who were called to bolster the State’s theory that the married Steven Rios killed Jesse Valencia because he was afraid that the latter would reveal their secret affair.

Steven Rios is accused of murdering a man with whom he had been having a sexual relationship

According to the medical examiner who conducted Valencia’s autopsy, the victim’s body shows signs of being choked into unconsciousness before his throat was slashed – a fatal gash so deep that the knife blade nicked his spine.

Prosecutors theorize that this kind of choke hold is a defensive technique taught to law enforcement officers – including the defendant, an ex-cop. But on cross-examination, the medical examiner conceded that more mundane pressure – some force requiring no specialized training – is also a possibility.

The trial continues at 9 a.m. this morning on In Session, with live reports from outside the courthouse with correspondent Jean Casarez.

–In Session staff

NEW YORK–It is hard to believe that seven years have passed since the capture of the so-called American Taliban.

'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh

John Walker Lindh was a troubled young man, a boy really, who left home in search of himself. He was sickly as a child. There is the suggestion that he was closeted as a teenager. And far more serious, the allegation that he was tortured when captured. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years.

But the times have changed. And now his supporters are asking for clemency. And President Bush has talked of his belief in redemption. But if that isn't enough, consider this: In 2004, the Bush Administration released another U.S. citizen who was accused of fighting for the Taliban. His name was Yaser Hamdi and the similarities suggest a review of the Lindh case is in order. Both young men went to Afghanistan prior to 9/11, when they believed the Taliban was fighting in a civil war, not against the U.S. And there is no indication that either ever fought against us.

In fact, both were captured at a prison uprising of Taliban forces who had already surrendered. But get this, Hamdi was never charged. He went home to Saudi Arabia. But John is serving a 20-year sentence. Any measure of compassion would suggest a reduction of that sentence. But justice demands it.

–Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK - Fifty-three years ago today, Rosa Parks greatly advanced the cause of civil rights with a single dignified act. She refused to stand.

The year was 1955 when the seamstress quietly explained to a Montgomery, Alabama bus driver, James Blake, that she would not give up her seat for a white passenger. It was the year my parents were married and I wasn't born until nearly a decade later. But I always knew of Rosa Parks, the mother of the civil rights movement. Her story, and that of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed, was part of the context of my childhood.

Children today can only imagine that time when black people were forced to sit at the back of the bus, to drink from separate water fountains, to swim in separate pools and beaches and of course to attend separate schools. Segregationists insisted that such separation could be equal. But we all now know what the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1954. That separate can never be equal.

It was a lesson Rosa Parks, in all her wisdom, understood implicitly. She was arrested for her dignified act of defiance. But her courage is a lesson to all of us, to right a wrong when we see it, to stand for what is moral and decent, and to speak out against injustice.

Rosa Parks died in 2005. She was ninety-three years old. After the bus boycott she continued her crusade at the side of great civil rights leaders of the day. But had she never done anything else, her example proves that a single act of courage can change the world.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - It is not every day a journalist is able to sit face to face with someone facing life in prison, so when I received the opportunity to videotape an interview with O.J. Simpson's co-defendant C.J. Stewart at the the Clark County detention center, my producer and I hopped a flight from New York bound for Las Vegas.

In Session correspondent Jean Casarez with C.J. Stewart at Clark County detention center

Stewart has changed since the October conviction on 12 counts stemming from kidnapping to armed robbery and conspiracy. He now sports a small beard and his once black hair is now sprinkled with silver grey highlights. Stewart is facing life in prison stemming from events that happened the night of September 13, 2007, when Simpson and his group of men went to the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas to retrieve memorabilia that once belonged to Simpson. Watch our exclusive interview with C.J. Stewart. 

Now, Stewart granted us that rare opportunity to hear from his viewpoint what happened that night and why he believes he has been wrongly convicted. Stewart told me he never knew about the guns that former co-defendants Michael McClinton and Walter Alexander had on them that night. He thinks it's a 50-50 chance that Simpson asked McClinton and Alexander to bring guns that night.

Stewart told me he remembers as they all were walking through the Palace Station's lobby, toward room 1203, someone asked Thomas Riccio if he thought the men waiting in the room had guns. Stewart says those words were still on his mind as he entered the small hotel room and believed he saw victim Bruce Fromong reach for a gun. That's why he said he initially walked towards Fromong in the room with plans to take the gun away. When I asked Stewart why he continued participating in the altercation when McClinton pulled out a gun, he told me he didn't see it, and if he had, he would have taken it away from McClinton.

Stewart said while in jail, he has tried to become a mentor to the young men he has met and now associates with on a daily basis. By request, Stewart has been moved to the jail's general population. Stewart seemed amazed as he described to me that many of these teens have been charged with murder. He told me he tries to instill in them the values of religion and respect to others, but foremostly respect of themselves.

Stewart will once again sit next to O.J. Simpson on Friday in the same courtroom they both were convicted in and knows he may be sentenced to life in prison by Judge Jackie Glass. Stewart displayed what appeared to be inner strength and conviction and has put his energy and passion toward mounting an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. He hopes for a new trial without Simpson as a co-defendant.

Stewart says if he had to be tried with Simpson again he would just walk himself right to the jail and not even wait for a jury verdict. Although Stewart didn't show any anger during our interview, he says now in retrospect, he believes he didn't have a chance being tried with Simpson. Stewart also told me if he gets that second trial, he's just waiting to get up and testify. "I want to be the first witness," he said.

Stay tuned to In Session, we'll be airing portions of this interview with C.J. Stewart throughout the day on Tuesday. On Friday, we'll bring you live coverage of the Simpson and Stewart sentencing.

-Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent

NEW YORK–Just before Thanksgiving last week, an Arizona prosecutor and defense attorney squared off in legal filings regarding the eight-year-old boy accused of killing his father and his father’s friend. I’ve read these court filings, and they reveal what’s really going on in this case.

First, the bad news: it looks like the prosecutor is playing games with the legal rights of this child. The state is asking the judge’s approval to dismiss one of the two murder charges against the boy, in an effort to hold it back, probably until the boy turns 15 and can then be tried as an adult. This changes the boy’s potential sentence from a stay in juvenile detention until the age of 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

No matter when he’s tried, the boy was eight years old when this crime happened. In my view it is barbaric to try him as an adult now, when he’s 15, or ever.

But there was one ray of hope I saw in the file: the court’s quiet appointment of a psychologist to administer a competency evaluation to the boy. If the child is not able to understand his rights or the consequences of his decisions, and cannot meaningfully participate in his defense, he’ll be deemed incompetent to stand trial. If he remains incompetent after eight months, the charges must be dismissed, with prejudice.

I don’t believe any third grader is competent to stand trial, which is why the rest of the civilized world would never charge a child this young. Let’s hope the psych report leads to a dismissal of this case, and then we can focus on the real problem here: gun laws so lax that parents are not required to keep loaded weapons out of the hands of little kids.

–Lisa Bloom, In Session anchor