On Thursday, O.J. Simpson will have a parole hearing which could determine whether he will be paroled from his 33-year sentence in 2008 for armed robbery and assault with a weapon, and it looks like he will soon be released from prison.
Ken Ritter of the Associated Press writes that the victim and the prosecutor in Simpson’s armed robbery case will not show up for the hearing; no one will oppose his release. Former Clark County attorney David Roger said, “Assuming that he’s behaved himself in prison, I don’t think it will be out of line for him to get parole.”
Simpson is ebullient about his chances of being released on October 1, according to USA Today, which reported that Tom Scotto, a close friend of Simpson’s said, “He says, ‘Tell them we’ll be playing golf again soon. … He just says, ‘We’ll be together again, my life will go back to normal.’ He’s very positive. He’s always been positive.”
USA Today reported:
Simpson’s plan if he is freed, according to Scotto, is to move back to Florida and live with Scotto, eventually buy his own house and, like old times, hit the golf course. Another option is for Simpson to live with his sister, Shirley Baker, in Sacramento, according to Scotto. Either way, the Nevada commissioners must approve an inmate’s parole plan before being released.
Scotto made light of the murder case in which Simpson was accused but eventually acquitted of murdering his wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman. Scotto, referencing the infamous “bloody glove” that was found at the scene of the crime, said:
We played every day in Miami, even if it was 100 degrees. We’d travel to West Palm Beach to play. We’d play once a week with Lawrence Taylor and Michael Jordan. I’ll tell you something really funny. You know you wear a (golf) glove on the course. And all of his friends, anytime he drops the glove, they say, “Oops, you did it again.”
Scotto asserted that Simpson started what he called a Baptist church at the prison, adding, “He was always a little bit religious.”
In its inestimable wisdom and search for ratings, Simpson’s parole hearing will be seen live on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, according to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated.