{"id":12284,"date":"2017-07-20T18:56:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/07\/20\/o-j-simpson-granted-parole\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T18:56:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:56:00","slug":"o-j-simpson-granted-parole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/o-j-simpson-granted-parole\/","title":{"rendered":"O.J. Simpson Granted Parole"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Merrit Kennedy<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Former NFL football star O.J. Simpson appears via video for his parole hearing at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev., on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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KOLO-TV via AP<\/p>\n

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KOLO-TV via AP<\/p>\n

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A Nevada parole board has granted O.J. Simpson parole from prison after he served nearly nine years following a conviction on armed robbery and other charges.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the four-person panel unanimously voted to grant parole. The parole board said that Oct. 1 is the earliest the former NFL star is eligible for release.<\/p>\n

NPR’s Ina Jaffe walked us through<\/a> the incident that led to his conviction:<\/p>\n

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“[H]e was convicted of a botched 2007 burglary in a cheap Las Vegas hotel. Along with a handful of accomplices, the former star broke into the room of a couple of sports memorabilia dealers. They had some items that Simpson believed belonged to him and that he wanted back. A couple of guys with Simpson brought guns.<\/p>\n

“Simpson was later convicted on 12 criminal counts including armed robbery, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Speaking to the parole board, Simpson stressed that he has been a model inmate during his time at the Lovelock Correctional Center. He says he took a course on nonviolence and has routinely stepped in to mediate conflicts between inmates.<\/p>\n

“I’ve spent nine years making no excuses about anything,” he said. “I’m sorry things that things turned out the way they did. I had no intent to commit a crime.” He said he promised the warden when he arrived at the prison that he would be “no problem, and I think I kept my word.” He added: “I don’t think any inmate has ever represented [the prison] better than I.”<\/p>\n