Everybody in America knows Orenthal James Simpson or O.J. for short, NFL superstar, sports broadcaster, comedy actor and suspected murderer of his ex-wife and her friend in 1994. The highly publicized trial shone a spotlight on the justice system and ended with "The Juice" being found not guilty, despite popular public opinion to the contrary. He lived free but in notoriety until 2008, when he was sent to prison for a completely different crime: a Las Vegas robbery the year before when he tried to take memorabilia which he alleged had been stolen from him.
He had been sentenced to 33 years, with possible parole in nine. That parole hearing came this Thursday and saw O.J. Simpson set to be released from prison later this year.
'The Juice' to be loosed
July 20 was a turning point for the now 70-year-old O.J. Simpson as he appeared for his first parole hearing nine years after his over-three-decades prison term for armed robbery began in 2008. From the Lovelock Correctional Center, he communicated via video teleconferencing with the Nevada Parole Board in Carson City. Following a deliberation that lasted about a half-hour, the four parole commissioners hearing his case decided to unanimously grant the famous celebrity defendant parole.
Under those terms, Simpson can see himself getting out of prison as early as October 1, upon which he will have completed nine years of his sentence.
While the original 33-year term would have let him out in 2041 (when he would be 94), it had been reduced to only last until 2022. Had the panel's vote not been unanimous during the hearing, parole commissioners from Las Vegas, the scene of his crime, would have spoken up. Simpson's parole conditions will put a limit on his allowable alcohol consumption: his blood alcohol content must not go to .08 and beyond.
Bygones are bygones
O.J. Simpson was accompanied to his parole hearing by his lawyer Malcolm LaVergne, his sister Shirley Simpson-Baker, and daughter Arnelle Simpson. Bruce Fromong, one of the Las Vegas memorabilia dealers the former football player robbed back in 2008, was also present during proceedings. He recalled how Simpson had never aimed a gun at him (it was one of his accomplices), and agrees that he must be released so he can rejoin his family.
"He is a good man," Fromong told reporters, "He made a mistake."
With freedom coming his way on October 1 in the earliest, Simpson now has the luxury to plan what he wants with his life. He has expressed interest in moving from Nevada to Florida, joking that the state probably did not want him as a resident anymore.
