Phil Spector's Supreme Court Appeal Denied: Producer Staying in Jail

Phil Spector is going to be in jail for a long time. The legendary producer's appeal of his murder conviction has been denied by the Supreme Court, Reuters reports.

Spector's attorney Dennis Riordan claimed his client's constitutional rights had been violated during the trial for the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson, but the justices upheld Spector's original conviction of second-degree murder. No comment was given concerning their decision to decline the appeal, which followed two trials in 2007 and 2009. The first resulted in a mistrial and the second in a sentence of 19 years to life in the California state prison system.

Spector was quoted by his driver as having uttered such incriminating statements as "I think I killed someone" while exiting through the backdoor of his house and brandishing a gun immediately following Clarkson's murder. Spector later claimed her death, resulting from a gunshot fired into her mouth, was the result of an "accidental suicide" and that she "kissed the gun." The defense's argument that Clarkson shot herself while depressed and under the influence has not held up.

Spector will be 88 years old before he is eligible for parole.