The Phil Spector jury, after 6 ballots, concludes that they are deadlocked at 10 and 2. Spector watched, leaning back, chin down, eyes fixed and unblinking. Mistrial for Phil!

Once again, a celebrity gets into hot water and walks away relatively unscathed. Lana Clarkson -- pictured here, in an early appearances as a trophy wife in Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- didn't walk away at all. Her last minutes were spent in Phil Spector's foyer, where she took a bullet to the brain.

Phil, he gets a 27-year old wife, a couple of big bodyguards, a tacky license plate, a little media circus on his block, and all the crazy hairstyles a man could want.

That is, until a civil trial comes for him. And maybe the district attorney, again.

Phil Spector theme song for the day? "Unchained Melody," of course.

The only one of the accused 6 to not post bail, Mychal Bell, is expected to receive his sentencing today in Jena, Louisiana.

Local officials tried to impede the traveling march from entering the small town of Jena (population: 2,971) by limiting 5 buses to enter the city limits per 12 minutes.

Most locals have fled the city, businesses have closed down.

While the arrest stems from the fact that 6 black teens beat a white teammate unconscious -- a charge of attempted murder -- the controversy centers around the fact that these teens may receive excessive jail time; what many are worried will be a punishment that does not fit the crime given the racial context and circumstances surrounding the incident. A charge of attempted murder is easier to prescribe to these boys if past hate crimes are neglected. We're talking about up to 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors and city officials insist that this entire case has nothing to do with race. How can this be close to the truth when the white victim is believed to have been one of three football players at the high school who hung nooses from a schoolyard tree as a statement to others? Donald Washington, Western Louisiana D.A., insists that race was not an issue because 3 months had passed between the hanging of the nooses and the beating last December.

According to the mothers of the accused teens, there is no question that a cloud of racial tension hung in that locker room. In November, less than a month before the beating, a white teen who graduated from the same school pulled a shotgun on 3 black teens as they were leaving a convenience store -- after wrestling the gun away from the boy, one of them was charged for theft of a firearm for running away with it (were they supposed to hand it back to him?). The boy who pulled the shotgun on them got off clean; no charge. As you can see, Jena is a special town -- one living in a bubble...did the civil rights movement forget to make a stop here as it was passing through Louisiana?

In a town of less than 3,000 people, nooses hanging from trees are not something you forget after 3 months. It takes time to properly tie a noose. It takes time to drive to school with these nooses in the back of your truck. It takes time to walk up to a tree and hang them there. It isn't simply a racial slur muttered in a football locker room. It's a statement; a threat.

Oh, and what happened to that tree by the way? The paranoid townspeople chopped it down.

AP Photo

After seven days of deliberation, word came from the Phil Spector jury today that they were deadlocked. But the judge isn't ready to let them go yet.

Turns out the jury is hung 7 to 5. Either 5 people are saying that reasonable doubt exists that Spector didn't shoot Lana Clarkson, or 7 are. That's more doubt than many courtwatchers had expected.

The judge asked the jurors if anything else might convince them to change their vote -- 3 said yes, tentatively, and seemed to focus on the question of doubt. So tomorrow they'll get to hear a couple of definitions again, but since they've had 'em all along, chances are that won't change things.

There is a big change, tho: Judge Fidler may have found precedent for allowing the jury to consider manslaughter in trying to reach a verdict, which hasn't previously been an option. That could very well alter the votes of the jurors. But it would also mean more lawyering on both sides pertaining to the count. CourtTV tells us it'll probably just be new summations, and they seem to know this stuff. If that happens, and the rest of the trial is any indication, they won't finish up this week.

What does all this mean? Legal implications of adding in that manslaughter count aside, it's all about the hanging. Hung jury = mistrial. And if that happens, the DA would have to try the case all over again, if they decide to give it another go. Given that the defense didn't seem to do a fantastic job on this go round, who knows what chance another prosecution might have.

Phil Spector's theme song today? Just Once In My Life.

I try to avoid rants here, but some of the cavalier responses to the recent taser stories have made me feel like I need to go above and beyond a simple comment. Accusations were made that the agonized screams of people being tasered were just the person being "dramatic". One commentor actually said, "Torture?" LOL! LOL? Are you kidding me? Try getting tasered LOL!

Of the three recent incidents, there is not a single clear video. The 15-year-old with autism was not caught on tape, the swarm of security at the John Kerry incident made the tasering difficult to see. The UCLA incident was off-camera, and only his screams are heard. So lets take a closer look at tasering before we decide either way, shall we?

"Necessary force" is used because of a danger to the officer, the person's self or others. On the many YouTube videos I watched, it seems like a severe case of mouthiness is what buys you the jolt. The woman in the above video is so calm, the cop does not even need to "eject" the tasers at her. He gently places them on her body. She asks suspiciously, "What are you putting on my body?" When he doesn't explain, she begins to panic. He suddenly grabs her, which frightens her, giving him reason to use the taser. The way he preps her so calmly, the way he chants, "Danger, danger, deploy!" really makes it look like they had a new toy they wanted to play with. Plus, he breaks the cardinal rule of bringing someone down, which is making sure the area is clear. This woman slams headfirst into a chair while handcuffed. He says sarcastically, " I can hear you BREATHING, Christine." Yeah, what a big faker she is!

Some actual facts and more videos after the jump!

Nearly 12 years after his infamous acquittal in the criminal trial in which he was charged with murdering his ex-wife and her beau, OJ Simpson is locked up on multiple felony charges.

View Simpson's in-custody status / charges (.pdf).

This time there was no Brentwood stakeout, no Ford Bronco, and somewhere in heaven Johnnie Cochran isn't the least bit surprised.

Friday he was questioned, earlier today he was booked, and tonight, ordered "held without bail" by a Clark County (Nev.) judge. OJ could spend decades in prison if found guilty of any combination of the 6 felony charges stemming from a reported armed robbery Thursday night at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino, a mile from the Vegas strip. And that would mean no more golf, OJ.

We won't bore you with the details. But the irony is kind of interesting. If found guilty, Simpson's sentence will indirectly result from his liability for the murders as found in the civil suit brought by Ronald Goldman's family. Millions of dollars in debt to the Goldman family, Simpson was reportedly on a mad hunt for memorabilia -- featuring himself as a football superstar -- which he believed to be his.

Fred Goldman is quoted in the AP:

"He's believed for years, decades, that he's entitled to do anything he wants, and the legal system and society has basically agreed with him," Goldman said. "This time, hopefully, he'll get what he deserves. He'll get jail time."

We are relieved that a) this didn't happen in LA; and b) this apparently wasn't a scam to garner press in the days following the official re-launch of If I DId It.

Shady video on this sketchy, sorry, and sad news after the jump.

Photo by John Locher / AP.

We can see it now, a new bestseller hitting the shelves just before Christmas: "If I Did It: Confessions of a Sports Memorabilia Armed Robber." Ohhhh, OJ Simpson, you and a cadre of other celebrities just like to entertain the masses in a different way. A special way. The "criminal" way!

Las Vegas police arrested former football star O.J. Simpson on Sunday in connection with a hotel room break-in, CNN said.

A source with the Las Vegas Police Department told CNN Simpson was taken into custody at The Palms hotel.

Celebrity Web site TMZ.com, citing unidentified sources, said several men broke into a memorabilia dealer's room on Thursday night and held the dealer at gunpoint while they took memorabilia once owned by Simpson and other sports stars. Simpson was among the men, according to the story on TMZ.com. The details could not be confirmed. [Reuters]

The memorabilia guy said Simpson and friends came blazing in with guns drawn. Simpson said it was peaceful.

Comprehensive coverage can be found at CNN.

Photo by Alan Light via Flickr

Neither Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, or even Britney Spears know how to get themselves into more ridiculous trouble than OJ Simpson who seems to be bent on getting himself thrown in jail.

In a bizarre and breaking story, the former USC Trojan is currently being questioned by the Las Vegas Police for an alleged armed robbery in a locked hotel room involving OJ Simpson collectibles.

Simpson is claiming that the team of people, including himself, that stormed into a room at the Palace Station casino last night, were conducting a "sting operation" to recover his own property.

"Everybody knows this is stolen stuff," Simpson said. "Not only wasn't there a break-in, but [Auction House owner Tom] Riccio came to the lobby and escorted us up to the room. In any event, it's stolen stuff that's mine. Nobody was roughed up."

"When they talked to him, Simpson made the comment that he believed the memorabilia was his," [Las Vegas police spokesman, Jose] Montoya said. "We're getting conflicting stories from the two sides."

Simpson is considered a suspect in the case, Montoya said. He was released after he and several associates were questioned, and he remained in Las Vegas.

"We don't believe he's going anywhere," Montoya said. - AP

In her closing arguments, defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden showed a video montage of witnesses who said they couldn't put the gun in Phil Spector's hand.

The defense is trying to convince the jury that Lana Clarkson, a marginally talented, fairly beautiful actress/model whose career was on the wane, left her crappy job at the House of Blues with the wealthy record producer late one night, got to his house, found a handgun and blew her brains out while sitting in a chair in his foyer. Spector was upstairs, they say.

As for Spector himself, he never testified. Today he slumped in his chair at the defense table, slumped as usual, his hands clasped and shaking. The shaking -- probably due to the meds he's on -- has been noticed before, but today he shook more than usual. Maybe the stress is starting to get to him -- or maybe it's the sound of Kenney Baden's voice.

In yesterday's closing, Kenney Baden was shrill and unpleasant. Somebody on the defense team noticed and coached her last night -- today she's less shrill, at least. The trial is being broadcast on CourtTV, up until they pull the plug on it for the creepy Star Jones. On the web, though, it's streaming without interruption, except during lunch. (click on video in the navigation bar). But there's not much time left to watch.

"It's now time for you to make things right," Kenny-Baden said as she finished her closing argument. After lunch today, there will be more from the prosecution. The lawyers could be done sometime Monday -- although in this trial, every argument seems to take a little longer than expected. Anyway, the jury will begin deliberating soon. No wonder Phil is shaking.

photo credit: AP