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| O.J. Simpson Parole Hearing: Live Updates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Right Now: Watch live as O.J. Simpson appears before a Nevada parole board on Thursday to appeal for his freedom after almost nine years in a state prison. A decision is expected by day’s end. | |
| • Mr. Simpson, 70, was convicted in 2008 of several felonies, including kidnapping and robbery at a Las Vegas hotel the year before. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. | • Mr. Simpson, 70, was convicted in 2008 of several felonies, including kidnapping and robbery at a Las Vegas hotel the year before. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. |
| • This is Mr. Simpson’s first chance to gain release from prison, because he is approaching the low end of his sentencing range. | • This is Mr. Simpson’s first chance to gain release from prison, because he is approaching the low end of his sentencing range. |
| • Four members of the state’s seven-person Board of Parole Commissioners are meeting now in Carson City, Nev. Mr. Simpson is participating by video link from the Lovelock Correctional Center, a medium-security prison about 100 miles to the northeast. This article will be updated through the day. | |
| • Mr. Simpson, wearing a light blue denim shirt and looking considerably thinner than at a hearing in 2013, walked into the hearing just after 1 p.m. Eastern. As the chairwoman of the parole board, Connie Bisbee, read the charges he was convicted of, he heaved a sigh and grimaced. | |
| When Ms. Bisbee slipped and said Mr. Simpson was 90 years old, not 70, he said, “I feel like it, though.” | |
| • Under questioning by parole commissioners, Mr. Simpson stuck to a version of the robbery that, as the board member Tony Corda said, “differs a little from the official record.” | |
| He insisted that the items he took from the memorabilia dealer, Bruce Fromong, whom he knew well, were his property. And he said he was not aware at the time that two of the men he took to the hotel room, whom he referred to as “security guys,” brandished guns. | |
| And he described himself as “a good guy,” using terms that contrast sharply with the image of him as man who abused his wife and was charged with murder. He said he had never brandished a weapon at anyone, and never would, adding, “I basically have spent a conflict-free life.” | |
| Mr. Simpson’s felony convictions came 13 years to the day after a Los Angeles jury found him not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman after one of the longest and most-watched criminal cases in history. | |
| In 1997, in a civil trial, another jury found that Mr. Simpson was responsible for their deaths, and awarded their families $33.5 million in damages; he has paid a tiny fraction of that amount. | In 1997, in a civil trial, another jury found that Mr. Simpson was responsible for their deaths, and awarded their families $33.5 million in damages; he has paid a tiny fraction of that amount. |
| What makes Mr. Simpson’s case unique, of course, is that people watching it have a different case in mind, the 1994 double murder. | What makes Mr. Simpson’s case unique, of course, is that people watching it have a different case in mind, the 1994 double murder. |
| It did not help matters that the 2007 robbery occurred on the same day as the release of “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer,” a book based on interviews Mr. Simpson gave, describing — in theory, hypothetically — how he could have carried out the murders. | It did not help matters that the 2007 robbery occurred on the same day as the release of “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer,” a book based on interviews Mr. Simpson gave, describing — in theory, hypothetically — how he could have carried out the murders. |
| One of his lawyers, Yale Galanter, has said that the charges filed against Mr. Simpson were excessive, and has suggested that the prosecutors and jurors were influenced by the earlier case. Though jurors were prohibited from considering any outside factors, “my biggest concern was whether or not the jury would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr. Simpson and judge him fairly and honestly,” Mr. Galanter said after the 2008 conviction. | One of his lawyers, Yale Galanter, has said that the charges filed against Mr. Simpson were excessive, and has suggested that the prosecutors and jurors were influenced by the earlier case. Though jurors were prohibited from considering any outside factors, “my biggest concern was whether or not the jury would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr. Simpson and judge him fairly and honestly,” Mr. Galanter said after the 2008 conviction. |
| The Clark County district attorney at the time, David J. Roger, and members of the jury have insisted that their actions were no more than a reflection of the crimes Mr. Simpson committed in that Las Vegas hotel. | The Clark County district attorney at the time, David J. Roger, and members of the jury have insisted that their actions were no more than a reflection of the crimes Mr. Simpson committed in that Las Vegas hotel. |
| If Mr. Simpson is released, the board could require him to go to a halfway house, or impose other terms on him. If he violates those terms, he could return to prison and serve up to the full 33-year sentence, minus time credited for good conduct. | If Mr. Simpson is released, the board could require him to go to a halfway house, or impose other terms on him. If he violates those terms, he could return to prison and serve up to the full 33-year sentence, minus time credited for good conduct. |
| If the board denies Mr. Simpson parole, it will decide how long he must wait until his next hearing, but it cannot be more than five years. An inmate of Mr. Simpson’s age, and with his status as a model prisoner, would typically win release. | If the board denies Mr. Simpson parole, it will decide how long he must wait until his next hearing, but it cannot be more than five years. An inmate of Mr. Simpson’s age, and with his status as a model prisoner, would typically win release. |
| The four-member panel must be unanimous to make a decision. If they are divided, the other two commissioners are polled, and then a simple majority can rule. | |
| The Lovelock prison sits on a patch of scrubland, bordered by mountains, in the remote high desert of northern Nevada — a location that is usually too far often the beaten path to draw much attention. | The Lovelock prison sits on a patch of scrubland, bordered by mountains, in the remote high desert of northern Nevada — a location that is usually too far often the beaten path to draw much attention. |
| But on Thursday, about 130 news media people, with dozens of cameras and satellite trucks, gathered outside the walls, in addition to the select few who were allowed inside. | |
| Corrections officers, sheriff’s deputies, SWAT teams and state troopers formed a heavy security cordon, stopping approaching vehicles long before they reached the prison. Though no protesters had gathered by the time the hearing began, officials braced for possible strong reactions, no matter what the board decides. | |
| After years of slowly fading into obscurity, Mr. Simpson was shoved back into the spotlight last year by two high-profile television projects. ESPN’s “O. J.: Made in America,” a multipart, nearly eight-hour documentary that won an Academy Award, spanned his life story: poor child in San Francisco, sports star in college and the N.F.L., charming pitchman and actor, abusive husband, California defendant and, finally, Nevada convict. | After years of slowly fading into obscurity, Mr. Simpson was shoved back into the spotlight last year by two high-profile television projects. ESPN’s “O. J.: Made in America,” a multipart, nearly eight-hour documentary that won an Academy Award, spanned his life story: poor child in San Francisco, sports star in college and the N.F.L., charming pitchman and actor, abusive husband, California defendant and, finally, Nevada convict. |
| FX’s “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” a mini-series dramatizing the murder investigation and trial, won several Emmy Awards. | FX’s “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” a mini-series dramatizing the murder investigation and trial, won several Emmy Awards. |