O.J. Simpson could be released from prison as early as October 1, CNN reports. A hearing that will take place in July will determine the decision. David Smith, spokesperson for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, confirmed the news to the outlet.
This is the first year the fallen football superhero-turned-inmate will be eligible for release. In order for Simpson to be released from prison, at least four of the seven commissioners on the prison board will have to vote in favour of Simpson’s release.
Simpson has been serving a 33-year sentence at Lovelock Correctional Facility for his role in a Las Vegas armed robbery that took place back in 2007. The following year a courtroom heard how Simpson led a group of men who used threats, guns and force to take photographs, footballs and other items from memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley. Simpson claimed that he had been trying to reclaim “sports memorabilia that was rightfully his,” as the Las Vegas Sun noted.
He was convicted on all 12 charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon – 13 years to the day he had been acquitted in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The 1995 murder trail was infamously declared, the “trial of the century” and the verdict caused international fervor and the jury’s decision to acquit Simpson.
It is still a contentious topic today.
The FX series that documented that trial, Ryan Murphy’s award-winning The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, along with Ezra Edelman’s Oscar-winning documentary O.J.: Made in America, launched Simpson back into public attention in the past year.
Simpson is now 69 years old.
