O.J. Simpson’s fate may soon be known.
Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, the 70-year-old former Bill has a parole hearing on the remaining counts for which he was convicted in Las Vegas in 2008.
According to many experts – it seems like Simpson has a strong chance of a favorable outcome before the Nevada Board of Parole, which in 2013 paroled him on five counts.
Here’s a bit of a refresher on Simpson’s status and what might happen:
Why is he in prison?
Obviously it is not for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson was convicted for his part in a September 2007 crime in which he and several accomplices entered a Las Vegas hotel room and took hundreds of pieces of memorabilia from two men. One of the men with Simpson brandished a gun during the incident, and Simpson ordered no one could leave the room. Simpson later told authorities that he was actually trying to retrieve items that belonged to him, including family pictures and personal belongings, but – the group left with many items that did not have anything to do with OJ Simpson. He was convicted in 2008 on all 12 counts — three counts of conspiracy, one count of burglary with use of a deadly weapon, and two counts each of kidnapping, robbery, assault and coercion, all with use of a deadly weapon. Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Simpson to a minimum of nine years and a maximum of 33 years in prison.
Where is Simpson now?
OJ Simpson is inmate number 1027820. He is at Lovelock Correctional Facility in Nevada. It is a medium-security facility more than 400 miles from Las Vegas. A parole hearing will be held on Thursday – but he is not eligible to be released on parole until October 1, 2017. So, if he is granted parole, he would not be immediately released. Simpson will take part in the hearing via video teleconference from Lovelock.
When will he know? When will we know?
All decisions to grant or deny parole require a majority of the Board (4). If the panel is not unanimous, two commissioners in another office will be patched in to participate in the hearing. There are times it can take up to three weeks for a decision, but that is not likely in this case. This is because the majority of the members will be present and will likely make their decision at the time of the hearing. OJ could learn on Thursday and so could we. According to the Nevada Department of Parole – If a split vote occurs in this case, a subsequent hearing will be held in January 2018.
Hearing Outcomes
The board members will deliberate in private after hearing all testimony related to the parole. Once they have deliberated, they will return and vote on the record. If parole is denied: A new hearing date will be set – usually 1-3 years from eligibility date of the inmate (Oct 2017)
If parole is granted: Inmates may not be released on parole until reaching the minimum parole eligibility date which means OJ Simpson may not be released until on or after October 1, 2017.
The hearing will be streamed live on television and the internet.
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