WATCH OUT!
For the first time in nearly a decade, former National Football League (NFL) superstar, actor (and presumed murderer) O.J. Simpson is a free man.
Or at least he will be in October …
The 70-year-old was granted parole by a judge in Nevada after serving nine years behind bars in connection with a 2007 armed robbery. That was the minimum sentence Simpson (a.k.a. inmate No. 1027820) could have served in connection his participation with the heist.
Prior to that Simpson was the star of the “Trial of the Century,” in which a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court notoriously found him not guilty in connection with the 1994 stabbing murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman.
The trial – and the iconic White Bronco chase that preceded it – is considered one of the biggest media spectacles in American history. An estimated 95 million Americans watched the Bronco chase, which began when an Orange County motorist informed police she had seen Simpson in the vehicle owned by his longtime friend Al Cowlings.
Simpson had a bag inside the Bronco containing $8,000 in cash, a loaded .357 Magnum and a fake goatee and mustache, among other items.
A year-and-a-half after his acquittal on criminal charges, a civil court found Simpson liable for the deaths – and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the families of the victims. According to those family members, Simpson has paid less than one percent of that amount.
Ten years after the civil court verdict, Simpson and several other men were accused of forcibly entering the Las Vegas hotel room of sports memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong and robbing him at gunpoint. Simpson claimed the items he took had previously been stolen from him, but a jury found him guilty regardless.
It’s not clear what sort of work Simpson will be allowed to do given the conditions of his parole, but there is apparently no shortage of interest in him.
“Everyone in town is shopping him a reality show,” a source told Page Six.
Simpson has proven adept at shielding his assets from collection in the past. Assuming he is allowed to work upon his release, it’s been speculated he might seek to route funds into offshore shell accounts not registered in his name.
Simpson has five children – including two by the woman he is widely believed to have murdered nearly a quarter century ago.
Our view? We believe the evidence against Simpson in his 1995 murder case was overwhelming, and that his acquittal was a travesty. Having said that, a jury of Simpson’s peers found him not guilty – and we’ve made our views on double jeopardy abundantly clear. We’d hoped Simpson would remain incarcerated for the duration of his armed robbery sentence, but authorities in Nevada believe he has earned an early release – and we’re not going to quibble with them over their decision.
Ultimately all of us get what we deserve, right? Maybe not in this life, but …
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Banner via Nevada Department of Corrections