OJ Simpson will today ask a US parole board to agree to his release from prison.
The 70-year-old sports star-turned-actor has served almost nine years of a maximum 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping at a Las Vegas Hotel in 2008.
If he is granted parole at the hearing – which will be televised live – he will walk free from prison on 1 October.
Simpson remains an American cultural icon as much for his infamous tangles with the law as his exploits in American football and Hollywood.
The rise and fall of “The Juice” has reached a whole new audience in recent years with the documentary series OJ: Made in America and drama The People v OJ Simpson.
He was found guilty of charges relating to the theft at gunpoint of sporting memorabilia from a collector. He claimed the items belonged to him and that he was reclaiming them.
He was found guilty 13 years to the day after his acquittal in what had become known as America’s trial of the century.
In 1995, Simpson was cleared of the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The pair had been stabbed to death outside of the Simpsons’ marital home in Los Angeles.
The verdict, which was watched by an estimated 100 million people, remains one of the most significant moments in American television history.
A jury in the civil trial later found that Simpson was responsible for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5m in damages.
There has long been a suspicion that the prison sentence for the Las Vegas robbery, considered harsh by many, was an attempt by the Nevada legal authorities to right the perceived wrongs of his murder trial in California.
The parole hearing will take place in Carson City in Nevada. Simpson will give evidence by video link from the Lovelock Correctional Centre where he is serving his sentence.
Officially listed as inmate 1027820, he is said to have been a model prisoner and has worked in the jail’s gymnasium. He was granted parole on some of the 10 charges at a hearing in 2013.
American broadcasters, including sports networks, are planning extensive live coverage of the hearing in Nevada’s state capital, a testament to Simpson enduring fascination for the US.
Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School who covered Simpson’s murder trial, said: “It’s a little bit different because he’s OJ Simpson.
“These commissioners know the whole world is looking at them.
“That’s a little bit of pressure.”
The man at the centre of one of America’s most significant television moments will be back on their screens with his liberty on the line.
Source: Sky News
