Convicted former actor, TV pitchman, and football player O.J Simpson could be released from jail on parole, as early as next week Monday, a prison official told the New York Post on Wednesday.
Simpson will be released in Nevada and plans are underway to finalize the process with document signing and approvals, all that is remaining for the former football star to walk to freedom.
According to state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Keast, Simpson is currently in Lovelock Correctional Center, which is situated in northern Nevada. Keast told the New York Post that he will be transferred to High Desert State Prison located just outside Las Vegas, for his release.
Parole
Simpson's parole was granted in July this year, by the state parole board, which set Sunday, October 1st as the day he will be eligible for parole. After his release, Simpson will continue to be supervised by the state Division of Parole and Probation.
The exact details of Simpon's parole have not been made public. Since October 1st falls on a Sunday, Simpson could be released on the first business day after, which is probably Monday, as prisons do not release inmates over the weekend.
Keast said prison authorities are trying to keep things as normal as possible, but she promised to shoot a video for the public, showing Simpson's release.
Simpson will be processed at High Desert state prison, which is the main processing center, for prisoners from the southern part of Nevada.
The correctional facility is located in Indian Springs, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Release date
A close friend of Simpson, Tom Scotto, who spoke to the New York Post, said that there was no official release date, as authorities were keeping it a closely guarded secret, but added Simpson could be released 'shortly after' October 1st.
According to Scotto, he has offered the former celebrity a place to stay--- with him, in Naples, Florida. Such an arrangement though would require consultations with the parole departments of Nevada and Florida, which would also depend on the set conditions stipulated, in Simpson's parole.
Efforts by NBC News to get a release plan from Simpson's Nevada lawyer Malcolm LaVergne did not materialize as he did not respond to queries.
Conviction
Simpson, who is now aged 70, was charged and found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping after a confrontation with two memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel in 2008. He was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, but he has so far spent nine years behind bars.
Earlier in 1995, Simpson was acquitted of a highly publicized murder charge of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her lover, Ronald Goldman.
Two years later, a civil court found him liable for the deaths of the two and ordered him to pay the families $33.5 million.
