Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 18 July 2017

OJ Simpson faces good chance at parole in Nevada robbery

By KEN RITTER don’t think it will be out of hearing, said David Smith,
Associated Press line for him to get parole,” a parole hearing examiner.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. said David Roger, the re- The commissioners will have
Simpson, the former foot- tired Clark County district a parole hearing report
ball star, TV pitchman and attorney. that has not been made
now Nevada prison inmate Four other men who went public, plus guidelines and
No. 1027820, will have a lot with Simpson to a hotel worksheets that would ap-
going for him when he asks room to retrieve from two pear to favor Simpson. It
state parole board mem- memorabilia dealers sports plans to make its written risk
bers this week to release collectibles and personal assessment public after a
him after serving more items that the former foot- decision.
than eight years for an ill- ball star said belonged to They will consider his age,
fated bid to retrieve sports him took plea deals in the whether his conviction was
memorabilia. heist and received proba- for a violent crime (it was),
Now 70, Simpson will have In this May 14, 2013 photo, O.J. Simpson sits during a break on tion. his prior criminal history (he
history in his favor and the second day of an evidentiary hearing in Clark County Dis- Two of those men testified had none) and his plans af-
a clean record behind trict Court in Las Vegas. Simpson, the former football star, TV that they carried guns. An- ter release, Smith said.
bars as he approaches pitchman and now Nevada prison inmate, will have a lot going other who stood trial with Nevada has about 13,500
the nine-year minimum of for him when he appears before state parole board members Simpson was convicted prison inmates, and the
his 33-year sentence for Thursday, July 20, 2017 seeking his release after more than eight and served 27 months be- governor-appointed Board
armed robbery and assault years for an ill-fated bid to retrieve sports memorabilia. fore the Nevada Supreme of Parole Commissioners
(AP Photo/Ethan Miller, Pool)
with a weapon. Plus, the Court ruled that Simpson’s has averaged about 8,300
parole board sided with pose releasing him in Oc- Las Vegas to convict Simp- fame tainted the jury. annual hearings for the
him once before. tober — not his victim, not son in 2008. Simpson’s conviction was past four years. The rate
No one at his Thursday even the former prosecutor “Assuming that he’s be- upheld. of inmates who are grant-
hearing is expected to op- who persuaded a jury in haved himself in prison, I Prison life was a stunning ed parole in discretionary
fall for a charismatic celeb- hearings held as they ap-
rity whose storybook career proach their minimum sen-
as an electrifying running tence, like Simpson’s, aver-
back dubbed “The Juice” ages about 82 percent.
won him the Heisman Tro- The same four board mem-
phy as the best college bers also have experience
player in 1968 and a place with Simpson, having grant-
in the Pro Football Hall of ed him parole in July 2013
Fame in 1985. on some charges — kid-
He became a sports com- napping, robbery and bur-
mentator, Hollywood mov- glary — stemming from the
ie actor, car rental com- 2007 armed confrontation.
pany spokesman and one The board’s decision left
of the world’s most famous Simpson with four years to
people even before his Los serve before reaching his
Angeles “trial of the centu- minimum time behind bars.
ry,” when he was acquitted Board members Connie
in the killings of his ex-wife, Bisbee, Tony Corda, Adam
Nicole Brown Simpson, and Endel and Susan Jack-
her friend Ronald Gold- son noted at the time that
man. Simpson had a “positive in-
Simpson, appeared grayer stitutional record,” with no
and heavier than most re- disciplinary actions behind
membered him when he bars.
was last seen, four years Simpson’s lawyer, friends
ago. and prison officials say that
He will appear Thursday hasn’t changed.
by videoconference from “He’s really been a positive
the Lovelock Correctional force in there. He’s done
Center, to be quizzed by a lot of good for a lot of
four state parole commis- people,” said Tom Scotto,
sioners in Carson City, a a friend from Florida whose
two-hour drive away. wedding Simpson was in
Two other members of Las Vegas to attend the
the board will monitor the weekend of the robbery.q