He won the Heisman Trophy in and set a number of individual and team records. Simpson also set the record for most touchdowns scored in , which did not get broken until By the time Simpson retired from football in , he ranked second all-time for yards gained. Simpson then moved into acting and commentary.
In , however, he took part in a bizarre robbery in Las Vegas. The NFL alum and his accomplices broke into a hotel room because they thought the sports memorabilia dealers staying there had items belonging to Simpson. Events like this might fly in a movie. Simpson received parole in after serving as a model prisoner, reports NPR. Currently, Simpson lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He settled there after the Florida state attorney general advised the board of corrections that Simpson was not welcome to stay in the Sunshine State. The victims' families: The Browns and Goldmans. The families of Nicole Brown Smith and Ron Goldman were not prepared to give up after Simpson was declared not guilty by the jury. As a result, the families also own the rights to If I Did It, Simpson's book explaining how he would have committed the murders had he been responsible. Ron's sister Kim - who dedicates a lot of her time to helping victims of domestic violence - said earlier this year there was "no escaping" the killing, as it continued to fascinate the public.
Simpson's second trial was never going to be as high-profile as the first. However, it too had its key players - his accomplices, the majority of whom turned state's witness, and the two victims. The co-conspirators. The court heard how in the former football player was accompanied by five other men as he tried to reclaim family pictures and footballs peddled by sport memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. Four of these five men made plea deals, testifying against the former sports star.
Three were given probation, and one was given total immunity. It led to Simpson being sentenced to 33 years for armed robbery, assault, kidnapping and other offenses.
The only co-accused who did not testify against Simpson was his golfing friend Clarence Stewart, who was sentenced to a minimum of seven-and-a-half years behind bars, which could have stretched to a year prison term. However, he was released from prison in after reaching a plea deal with the prosecutor. The victims. Simpson's group kidnapped two memorabilia dealers in September Alan Beardsley, and Bruce Fromong.
The former was a convicted felon who died in , and the latter had been a friend of Simpson's since the s. Both denied having stolen anything from the NFL player and Fromong has indicated he planned to testify on Simpson's behalf at his parole hearing.
A potted history of OJ Simpson. OJ Simpson loses US retrial bid. OJ Simpson's home bulldozed in OJ answers online questions. OJ Simpson given lengthy sentence. Image source, Reuters. OJ Simpson has been involved in two high-profile trials. The trial. Image source, Getty Images. Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden became celebrities. Following a fight between the two at a New Year's Eve party, in which he allegedly threatened to kill her, the former football star pleaded no contest to spousal battery.
We were both guilty. No one was hurt. It was no big deal, and we got on with our life. On June 12, , the bodies of Brown Simpson and friend Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside of her condominium in Los Angeles' Brentwood area. Evidence led police to suspect Simpson of the murders.
Simpson was ordered to surrender by 11 a. Simpson finally surrendered voluntarily the evening of June 17 at his Brentwood mansion. Lee Bailey. Despite strong evidence against Simpson, the lawyers successfully raised doubts about the handling of the evidence.
Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark appeared to have a strong case against Simpson, as a glove matching the one found near the dead bodies surfaced on Simpson's property, while DNA testing connected him to the bloodstains left behind. However, Cochran famously dismissed the matching gloves in his closing statements, noting, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
Simpson trying on gloves during his murder trial. On October 3, , the jury found Simpson not guilty of either murder. It was one of the most-watched events in television history, with million people tuning in to hear the verdict. Simpson was hauled back to court for a civil trial, and in February he was found liable for the wrongful deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman.
Simpson moved to Florida in , in large part due to a state law that prevented his home from being seized to help cover the civil damages. He auctioned off memorabilia to raise money and harbored hopes of returning to show business, although he found himself back in the headlines after allegedly attacking another driver in a road-rage incident in December He was acquitted the following October.
In October , Simpson was convicted of 12 counts of armed robbery and kidnapping, along with Clarence "C. The two men were found guilty of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room in Simpson, who was immediately taken into custody, told police that he had just been trying to reclaim his possessions.
In December , Simpson and Stewart were sentenced to up to 33 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after nine years. Simpson spent nearly nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping.
He was sentenced to prison on December 5, , and was released on parole on October 1, I followed what I thought was the law," the former running back testified in a Las Vegas courtroom. I didn't break into anybody's room. I didn't try to muscle guys. The guys had my stuff, even though they claimed they didn't steal it. On July 31, , Simpson's parole request was granted for five of the convictions that had landed him in prison in , including two for kidnapping, two for robbery and one for burglary with a firearm.
The Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners made the decision based on the lack of previous criminal convictions on Simpson's record, although he was forced to remain behind bars for related sentences.
Simpson's legal team filed an appeal for a new trial in October , but the Nevada Supreme Court panel rejected the appeal in September , ruling that there was no reason to overturn the lower court's decision.
On July 20, , year-old Simpson appeared via video conference from Lovelock Correctional Center in front of the Nevada Board of Parole in Carson City to make his case to be set free.
At the hearing, which was live-streamed and broadcast on television, Simpson answered questions from the four-person parole board about his crime, saying he knew the memorabilia dealers well and that he owned the property he took from them.
Simpson also said, "I'm not a guy who lived a criminal life.
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