OJ Simpson granted paroles, to leave prison in October

The former football star could be released as early as October, multiple US outlets are reporting.
After nearly nine years in prison, O.J. Simpson was granted his freedom Thursday by four members of the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners and will leave prison on or after 1st October. The Hall of Famer reacted emotionally and with a smile as each of the four delivered their votes on whether he should be freed after serving nearly nine years of a nine-to-33-year sentence for 12 convictions, including kidnapping and armed robbery, stemming from a 2007 sting operation in which he tried to recover sports memorabilia from two collectors.

Simpson mouthed the words “thank you” as he stood and returned to his cell, where he will remain until fall.
Offered the chance to make a statement, Simpson apologized. “I’ve come here and spent nine years making no excuses about anything. I am sorry things turned out the way they did. … I tell inmates all the time ‘Don’t complain about your grind. Do your time.’ … I believe in the jury system. I will honor the decision. … I have done my time and I’d like to get back to my friends. And believe it or not, I do have some friends. I don’t think anyone could have honored this institution better. I’m sorry it happened.

As for his life in prison, Simpson said he had been commissioner of the softball league, which required frequent resolution of anger issues among players, and that he had taken computer training “so that I can better communicate with my children.” Later, his lawyer read a letter saying that Simpson could have “a webcast or blog in my future,” a statement that drew titters.

Simpson’s daughter, “the eldest of four,” tearfully described the last nine years as an “ordeal.” “My experience is that he’s like my best friend and my rock. As a family, we recognize that he is not a perfect man but has done his best to be true to his character. The choices he made nine years ago were clearly wrong and … counterproductive. … My dad recognizes that he took the wrong approach and could have handled the situation differently.

“We just want him to come home and I know in my heart that he is very humbled.”

A version of this article is appeared on the Washington Post website.

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