OJ Simpson Got Parole After Years In Prison For Robbery Case

In a widely watched hearing on Thursday, July 20, OJ Simpson's bid to earn a release from jail later this year was successful.

On Thursday, July 20, during a hearing before the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, four of the seven commissioners decided to grant Simpson parole.

Going into the hearing, Simpson only needed to win parole on seven of the 12 original charges for which he was sentenced in 2008. The former NFL star had already earned parole on five of the charges, during a 2013 hearing before the board.

In a press conference following the hearing, a representative for the board explained the parole decision was based on Simpson's good behavior in jail, his participation in constructive programs, and the support of one of the robbery victims, Bruce Fromong, who testified on Simpson's behalf.

The 70-year-old is now expected to be released from the Lovelock Correctional Facility in October.

Simpson was originally sentenced to a minimum of nine years, and a maximum of 33, after he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping, among other counts.

Simpson's sentence stemmed from an incident in 2007, during which he and five associates, two of them armed, entered a Las Vegas hotel and exited two guests' room with memorabilia, some of which had been signed by Simpson.

During the criminal trial, Simpson claimed that he'd simply gone to the hotel to take back property he owned and did not know two of his associates were armed.

The prosecution argued, successfully, that Simpson plotted to "gang up on the guests and commit robbery." Of the six men charged, Simpson is the only one who was still serving a prison sentence.

During Thursday's hearing, Simpson told the commissioners,

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.

The four commissioners who conducted the hearing would later vote unanimously to grant parole to Simpson. In the event that a unanimous vote was not reached, three other commissioners would have been polled.

Upon being released, Simpson is expected to benefit from multiple streams of income, including a pension plan from the NFL.