Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson was granted parole on Thursday in Lovelock, Nev., after serving almost nine years of a 33-year sentence on robbery charges.
The four-person parole board unanimously voted to release Simpson. By virtue of the decision, the 70-year-old Simpson could be out of prison as early as Oct. 1.
Simpson simply lowered his head and whispered "Thank you" after receiving the news.
David Smith, spokesman for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, explained the rationale for granting Simpson's parole in a media conference after the hearing.
"Mr. Simpson had no prior or minimal criminal conviction history," Smith said. "He had a positive institutional record. He had participated in a program specifically to address his behavior that led to his incarceration. He has a stable release plan and community and family support, and the victim in this case testified in support of Mr. Simpson's release."
Simpson was convicted in 2008 of an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. He served the minimum sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center, about 90 miles northeast of Reno, Nev.
"I've spent nine years making no excuses about anything. I am sorry that things turned out the way they did," Simpson said in his closing remarks Thursday. "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."
Appearing as inmate No. 1027820, Simpson was accompanied by lawyer Malcolm LaVergne, prison caseworker Marc La Fleur, close friend Tom Scotto, sister Shirley Baker and daughter Arnelle Simpson.
Simpson said at the time of his arrest that he was attempting to retrieve his own personal sports memorabilia that was stolen from him sometime in the mid-1990s.
By receiving parole, Simpson noted that he wished to repair relationships that have been affected by his time in prison and feels he'll adapt well in everyday life.
"Well, you know, I do have four kids," Simpson said. "I've missed a lot of time with those kids -- like 36 birthdays with my children. ... My reputation has always been that I'm open to the public, I'm open to everybody. Right now, I'm at the point in my life where I can spend as much time with my children and my friends.
"... Wherever I've been there's been a crowd. That's not new to me. ... I'm pretty easily approachable. I've dealt with it all my life, and I don't foresee any problem dealing with the public now, at all."
Arnelle Simpson choked back tears as she pleaded her father's case before the parole board.
"He's like my best friend and my rock," she said. "And as a family, we recognize that he is not the perfect man, but he is the man and the father that speaks to his overall character, which is to be positive no matter what.
"... On behalf of my family, his friends, we just want him to come home."
Bruce Fromong, a victim in the robbery case, spoke in favor of Simpson's release. He said on the day of the robbery, "Simpson was misguided."
"He was misled about what was going to be there that day," Fromong said of the robbery day. "O.J. never held a gun on me. "O.J. is my friend, always has been, and I hope will remain my friend."
Simpson was acquitted in the killings of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995.
Connie Bisbee, chairman of the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, referenced the 1995 trial during Thursday's hearing, saying the board had received hundreds of letter of support and opposition regarding Simpson's release. She specifically noted that case was not relevant to Thursday's hearing and would not be considered when determining whether Simpson would be paroled because Simpson had been acquitted.
He was a highly popular figure prior to the brutal knife-slashing killings in 1994 but the Pro Football Hall of Famer was infamous after the verdicts despite being found not guilty.
Simpson was a college football star at USC and was perhaps the top running back in the NFL in the 1970s while starring for the Buffalo Bills.
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