The global media fascination with former football star O J Simpson continues. Now 70 years old, he appeared before a parole board, seeking freedom from prison after serving the minimum sentence of nine years of a thirty-three year sentence for armed robbery. His hearing was telecast live on the news as well as through different online media outlets.
O J Simpson sat in front of parole board members – chair Connie Bisbee, Tony Corda, Adam Endel and Susan Jackson. The hearing was held over video conferencing from Lovelock Correctional Center to Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners headquarters in Carson City, O J was given a chance to talk about his time in prison, and how his “good behavior” gave him a chance to be released much earlier than his original sentencing. “I’ve spent nine years making no excuses about anything. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime – I’ve done my time. I’d just like to get back to my family and friends. Believe it or not, I do have some real friends. And I tried to be helpful to everybody.”
Originally, O J Simpson’s sentence was to end on September 22, 2022, but he could be out as soon as October 1 of this year, after completing just nine years of his sentence.
There were mixed emotions as thousands watched the verdict live. While some fans said that being sentenced to over three decades in prison over an armed robbery, others said he’s doing too little time for all being accused of murdering his ex wife, Nicole Brown.
Back in 2007, O J Simpson was arrested for an alleged armed robbery. He was accused of breaking into a hotel in Las Vegas and robbing sports memorabilia from two collectors. O J later said that he was in the city for a wedding, and that he did not possess any weapons. He claimed that the two other men accompanying him had drawn their weapons behind his back, and that he was present in the room to get back sports items that originally belonged to him.
The shamed sports star has faced a lot of controversy over his lifetime. A special series called The People v. O J Simpson: American Crime Story was created to re-enact the murder of O J’s wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and another victim. It became the trial of the century, and the entire episode has gone down in pop culture history.
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