Simpson has served nearly nine years of his sentence, which carried a max of 33 years.
- A simple majority vote (so just four of the six members need to vote yes)
- If the vote splits 3-3, parole will be denied. But he’ll get another shot at a hearing in six months.
- If he gets the four or more votes needed for parole, he could be released as early as October.
Simpson was labeled low risk at a 2013 parole hearing
From CNN’s Paul Vercammen:
This is the first year Simpson could be released (since he was sentenced to at least nine years). But he was granted parole on some of the counts against him at a 2013 hearing. Now, he only has to make parole on seven of the original 12 counts.
The parole board scores an inmate on several factors — the higher the total score, the greater the risk involved in releasing them:
- Someone with zero to five points is deemed low risk.
- Between six and 11 points is considered medium risk
- More than 12 points? High risk.
In 2013, Simpson scored three points overall.
A (very brief) timeline of O.J. Simpson’s legal history
- June 17, 1994: Simpson is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances in the June 12 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
- July 22, 1994: Simpson pleads not guilty.
- Oct. 3, 1995: A jury returns a not guilty verdict after less than four hours of deliberations in the criminal trial.
- Oct. 23, 1996: A civil trial begins in a wrongful death suit brought against Simpson by the victims’ families.
- Feb. 4, 1997: A jury finds Simpson liable in the civil wrongful death suit brought by the victims’ families and awards the plaintiffs $8.5 million in damages.
- Feb. 10, 1997: Simpson is ordered to pay $25 million in punitive damages to the victims’ families.
- Sept.16, 2007: Simpson is arrested in connection with the robbery inside the Las Vegas hotel room
- Nov. 28, 2007: Simpson pleads not guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery and assault.
- Oct. 3, 2008: Simpson is found guilty on 12 counts, including kidnapping and armed robbery. It’s 13 years to the day that he was acquitted in the murder trial.
Read a more complete timeline of O.J. Simpson here.
Why is O.J. Simpson in prison?
It’s not for the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. He was acquitted of those charges in 1995.
Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year sentence for his role in a 2007 incident in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Simpson (plus five other men who were carrying guns) allegedly confronted two sports memorabilia dealers and took pieces of memorabilia from them. Simpson was convicted on 12 charges including kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon. The former college and pro football star said at his sentencing that he was trying to reclaim family heirlooms and other personal items that had been stolen from him.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE…
| 2017, From CNN’s Paul Vercammen: CNN |