NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Making clear that she thought the sentence was a light one, a Louisiana judge Thursday formally imposed a 20-year prison sentence on former NFL star Darren Sharper, who last week was sentenced by a federal judge to 18 years and four months in a drug and rape case with victims in four states.
Defense attorney Billy Gibbens said that the two sentences are essentially the same, when credit for time served and other factors are considered. The sentence follows Sharper's guilty pleas in state and federal courts in New Orleans, and pleas of guilty or no contest to similar charges in Arizona, California and Nevada - all the result of a multi-jurisdiction plea deal that once called for a sentence of about nine years.