To the casual observer, there is nothing extraordinary about inmate number 1027820 at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada. As far as jails go, the facility is mid-security level, meaning thereby that inmates and guards have a fairly cordial and decent relationship. Ask any of them about the mild-mannered, 70-year-old inmate 102780 with the salt and pepper hair and they would mostly say that he is a nice old man who does his chores and minds his own business.
But look closely and you fill find that the 6'2", 235 pounds septuagenarian and one gets the feeling that there is more to him than meets the eye.
For the man sharing an eighty square foot cell with another inmate had one time, been the face of the NFL and the darling of the media.
Simpson sentenced to thirty-three years
Orenthal James Simpson, known to the world as O.J. Simpson or simply as 'The Juice' has been living a life much at odds with his meteoric rise and days of glory. After coming out unscathed from the 1995 murder investigation of Nicole Brown, his ex-wife, and Ron Goldman, Simpson tried and failed to stay out of the spotlight. In 2008 he was sentenced to thirty-three years in prison with the possibility of an early release via parole after nine years for the crime of armed robbery.
Sports Illustrated report that "Simpson will turn his attention to his upcoming parole hearing.
According to David Smith of the Nevada parole board, that will likely take place over the summer." The once talismanic and now controversial sports figure will, in fact, appear before the Nevada parole board on 20th July in an attempt to convince them that he is a changed man and no longer a threat to society.
Seven-member parole board
The decision of the Nevada parole will be made by a seven-member board. A successful decision needs the approval of at least four board members. There was a time when 'The Juice' could have walked into a room and won over the whole crowd in seconds with his electric presence. But the fall from grace has been steep for the legend whose controversial trial became a watershed event for racial tensions in the U.S.
and came to define him as a polarizing figure. Although all charges against him were dropped in the aftermath of the 'Trial of the Century' Simpson did not come out with his hands clean.
The ensuing decade saw him constantly embroiled in legal disputes with families of the victims. In order to evade the grasp of his detractors, Simpson relocated to Florida. However, in an ironic twist of karma, he found himself in the vice-like claws of the law once again in 2008 after a botched up robbery attempt of Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, who were collectors of memorabilia.
Now it all comes down to the seven parole members to decide if 'The Juice' deserves another chance.
