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O.J. Simpson Granted Parole from Prison, Could Be Released as Soon as October 1
July 20, 2017
After serving nearly nine years of a 33-year prison sentence, O.J. Simpson was granted parole Thursday and will be released from Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada, as early as October 1.
The 70-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer has been incarcerated since 2008 after being found guilty of 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping.
Those charges stemmed from a 2007 incident in a Las Vegas hotel room that saw Simpson and others attempt to take memorabilia from Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley.
According to the CNN timeline of Simpson's history, the former Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers running back contended that he was attempting to take back items that were stolen from him.
In 2013, Simpson won parole on two kidnapping and two robbery convictions, as well as a burglary with a firearm conviction.
Simpson continued to be held, however, since he was not up for parole on the other convictions until Thursday's hearing before the Nevada Parole Board.
During the hearing, Simpson answered several questions from the board and at one point said, "I have basically lived a conflict free life," according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.
In 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of two murder counts in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman.
That concluded one of the most infamous trials in American history, which has since been detailed in ESPN's Oscar-winning documentary O.J.: Made In America, as well as the FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson.
While Simpson was found not guilty in the criminal trial, he was ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages and $25 million in punitive damages to the victims' families as part of a civil trial, per CNN.
CNN provided video of Simpson's parole hearing during which he said he had never been accused of pulling a weapon on anyone:
During his prison sentence related to the 2007 incident in Las Vegas, Simpson has largely been described as a model inmate.
According to CNN's Paul Vercammen, Nevada prisons system spokeswoman Brooke Keast said Simpson has "stayed out of trouble," and Simpson's friend, Tom Scotto, said Simpson "brings everybody together."
When asked recently about Simpson potentially being released on parole, his attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, told the Associated Press (h/t Kaitlyn Schallhorn of Fox News) that he anticipates his client leading a "quiet life."