Former football star O.J. Simpson is being granted parole after spending nine years in prison for a 2008 kidnapping and armed robbery. According to E! News, Simpson was “set to serve a 9- to 33-year sentence at the prison” but was granted parole on July 20, 2017 with four unanimous votes.
“Our decision, although difficult, is fair and just,” one officer told the court.
Simpson will be released from the Nevada Lovelock Correctional Center as early as October 1, 2017, reports say.
According to CNN, Simpson and five other armed men walked into a Las Vegas casino hotel room and “stole memorabilia such as signed game balls and photos” in 2008. Four of those men pleaded guilty and even testified for the prosecution. But according to Simpson and his team, he was only trying to retrieve what was rightfully his, such as “personal” and “intimate family photos” and “documents of his accomplishments.”
At this point, though, Simpson’s only goal is to get back to his family.
“I do have four kids. I’ve missed a lot of time with those kids,” Simpson told the court. “I think I’m a guy who’s always been a giving guy—even on the street. People have always come up to me. My reputation has always been that I’m open to the public. I’m open to everybody. Right now I’m at a point in my life where all I want to do is spend time with my children and my friends. I’ve done my time. I’ve done it as respectfully as anyone can…I’ve not complained for nine years…I want to get back to my kids and my family.”
With his parole granted, prison officers have moved Simpson into a cell away from other inmates “for his protection.”
Simpson’s children, Sydney and Justin, are happy their father is being released. They will be happy to have him home to they can move forward as a family.
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