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| O.J. Simpson Parole Hearing Thread | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 20 2017, 12:48 PM (53 Views) | |
| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 12:48 PM Post #1 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Background.... --OJ Simpson, the former NFL star famously acquitted of murder but later jailed for a doomed bid to retrieve sports memorabilia that he said belonged to him, is expected be a free man soon. On Thursday morning, a Nevada state parole board will hold a hearing for Simpson, 70, who is in the ninth year of a 33-year sentence for armed robbery and assault with a weapon. The disgraced gridiron hero, with the help of several other accomplices, broke into a Las Vegas hotel room on 13 September 2007 and held up two memorabilia dealers for collectibles and personal items he claimed were rightfully his. He was found guilty by a jury on all 12 charges and given the maximum sentence. Four members from the Nevada board of parole commissioners will consider parole for Simpson at the board offices in Carson City in a hearing scheduled for 10am PT. Simpson will participate by video conference from about 100 miles away at Lovelock correctional center, the Pershing County prison where he has been incarcerated since December 2008. The same four commissioners already granted Simpson parole on the lesser charges of kidnapping, robbery and burglary in a July 2013 hearing. That ruling left Simpson with four years remaining before reaching the minimum sentence of nine years. The rate of inmates who are granted parole in discretionary hearings held as they approach their minimum sentence is around 82%. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 12:50 PM Post #2 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) OJ Simpson, a/k/a inmate No1027820, is scheduled to appear before the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners today for a hearing that will determine whether one of America’s most notorious prisoners will be released after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence for convictions related to a 2007 kidnapping and armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel. The hearing is slated to begin at 10am local time (1pm ET/6pm BST) or just about 25 minutes from now. Here’s a general idea of what to expect: --Simpson, who will participate by video conference from about 100 miles away at Lovelock correctional center, will take questions from the six parole board commissioners for 30 to 45 minutes. --He must received a majority of votes from the six-member board in order to receive parode. A 3-3 deadlock will result in another hearing in six months’ time. --If paroled, Simpson will be released “on or after October 1st”, according to David Smith, a spokesman for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners. The release of Simpson, now 70, would no doubt kick off a renewed media frenzy that’s been suggested in the days leading up to today’s hearing, which will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN. Offshore betting websites, 5Dimes.com and Bovada.lv are both offering odds on whether the disgraced football star will be released. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 12:57 PM Post #3 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The board will depend heavily on a points system that considers 11 factors, including criminal history, age and gender, history of alcohol and/or drug abuse, and behavior as an inmate. Most of these are expected to align in Simpson’s favor. Remember: the same four commissioners for todays hearing already granted Simpson parole on the lesser charges of kidnapping, robbery and burglary in a July 2013 hearing. One factor that won’t be considered is Simpson’s trial (and ultimate acquittal) in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:02 PM Post #4 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The four commissioners of the parole board have taken their seat in their Carson City office. No sign of Simpson yet from Lovelock. The hearing should be under way shortly. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:06 PM Post #5 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Connie Bisbee, one of the four parole commissioners, starts off the hearing at 10:01am local time by calling for Simpson, who will be joined by one of his representatives. And here’s OJ, who, as previous reports have indicated, has indeed lost a considerable amount of weight. He’s wearing his blue prisoner uniform and joined by his attorney. Bisbee says his parole eligibility date is “October 1st, 2017”. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:08 PM Post #6 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) “Mr Simpson, you are getting the same hearing that everybody else gets,” Bisbee says, prompting a hint of laughter from Simpson and his attorney, but adds that she will be adding more information than necessary due to the excessive amount of media interest in the case. Bisbee goes into the explaining the detailed risk assessment used by Nevada to determine the prisoner’s likelihood of committing another crime: “It’s pretty darn predictive is the bottom line here.” |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:12 PM Post #7 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Simpson is asked whether the first time he was arrested was after the age of 24. He admits he was arrested for the first time “when I was 46 or 47”. We all know what that was for. Bisbee says he’s had a substance abuse issue and that Simpson is male. Then she says that Simpson is “90 years old” and both rooms erupt in laugher. OJ, of course, is 70. She corrects her error with a smile. He has stable post-release plans and no gang affiliations. Bisbee says these factors make Simpson a low risk, but the violent nature of the offense will force the board (to) consider (other) factors, both aggravating and mitigating. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:20 PM Post #8 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) The former NFL star explains he was contacted by a man who offered photographs of the sports memorabilia that OJ immediately recognized as personal belongings, including his mother’s photo album and personal letters. By chance, “a perfect storm” as Simpson called it, they all ended up in Las Vegas at the same time. The people who had the memorabilia were former friends of OJ, he explains, who had actually helped him move the stuff into storage before. He continues to tell how the scheme to retrieve the property unfolded, nothing that’s not already in the public record. He emphasizes that he had no weapon. (Remember: The four other men who accompanied Simpson, including two who testified that they carried guns, accepted plea deals in the heist and received probation.) He continues ... |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:23 PM Post #9 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) ... Simpson’s voice raises as he goes deeper into his account: “It’s been ruled legally by the state of California that the property was mine.” He finds it unfair that he’s in jall for going to retrieve property that courts ultimately found was rightfully his. He says he didn’t realize guns were brandished in the hotel room until after they were back in the car driving back to their hotel. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:32 PM Post #10 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Corn asks another question: “What do you think the impact was on your victims?” Simpson says he knows what the impact was, but re-emphasizes that no one ever accused him of pulling a weapon on them. Now Susan Jackson, another parole commissioner, asks about his commitment to Christianity and how he started a Baptist ministy in prison. He then tells Jackson about the various courses he’s complete in prison, inclduing courses in Alternative to Violence and Victim Empathy. He admits that he “had a few drinks” on the day of the robbery because they were celebrating a wedding, but he never had a substance abuse issue. Jackson says that she asks the question because he promised the parole board in 2013 that he’d attend Alcoholics Anonymous, which he hasn’t done. Simpson says he never had a problem and believed that his initiative with the Baptist prayer group and role as commissioner of an 18-team softball league compensates for the exprience he’d have had in AA. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:34 PM Post #11 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Simpson is asked whether these courses, including a computer course, will help his re-adjustment to the world. “I’m not a guy who has conflicts on the street,” Simpson says. “I’m a guy who’s got along with just about everybody.” |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:38 PM Post #12 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) “I haven’t made any excuses in nine years here,” Simpson says. “But I should have never let these security guys try to help when they were only trying to help themselves.” Jackson says they’ve received hundreds of letters of support and hundreds of letters against his release. Most of the latter group, Jackson says, have begged the board to consider Simpson’s criminial trial in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend and subsequent civil judgment against Simpson. Jackson confirms what we already knew: the board will not considered either of these factors in their decision. Simpson somewhat meekly shrugs his shoulders in consent. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:41 PM Post #13 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Adam Endel, another parole commissioner, asks whether he’s completed his restitution payments to the victims. After a bit of a confusion, Simpson confirms he has. Endel then asks why parole would be better for Simpson than completing his sentence in Lovelock. Simpson says he’s been denied time with his four kids long enough: “I’ve served my time. ... I’ve not complained for nine years. All I’ve done is try to be helpful.” He says he’s received many interview requests and job offers from media and turned them all down. Endel asks if Simpson emphasizes that any violation of his parole, if it’s granted, would result in his returning to prison: “I’ve never lived a criminal life. I’m a pretty straight shooter.” |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:44 PM Post #14 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Endel asks how he’d anticipate dealing with public scrutiny if released. Simpson says he’s been recognized publicly “since I was 19” and is more than used to it. He says even in the two decades since his double-murder trial, he rarely encounteres negativity on the streets and has remained as appraochable as ever. |
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| Webster | Jul 20 2017, 01:50 PM Post #15 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() (The Guardian) |
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