O.J. Simpson Granted Parole, Still Faces at Least Four Years in Prison

Former football hero has his jail time cut, but will remain behind bars due to other charges

O.J. Simpson has scored a small victory.

The former football hero has been granted parole on several of the charges that landed him in prison back in 2008, namely, charges of kidnapping, robbery and burglary with a firearm.

However, despite Wednesday's ruling by the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, Simpson will remain behind bars at the Lovelock Correctional Facility for at least four more years on sentences stemming from other charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, that were ordered to run consecutively.

In a statement, the Board said the decision to grant parole to Simpson was due to "his positive institutional conduct, participation in programs, lack of prior conviction history and that he has consecutive sentences yet to serve."

Simpson, 66, was originally sentenced to serve 33 years in prison after he was convicted of masterminding a raid on two sports memorabilia dealers at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in 2007.

Last Thursday, he appeared in a Carson City courtroom via a video broadcast from Lovelock, where he pleaded for leniency during his parole hearing.

"I am just sorry I had to send the state of Nevada legal system through all of this, because I know it has not been fun for the people involved," he said. "I just wish I never went to that room. I wish I just said, 'Keep it.'

Simpson and five other men were accused of holding up two men at gunpoint in a Vegas hotel room in an attempt to recover old Simpson keepsakes he claimed were rightfully his. Simpson believed the memorabilia dealers had items which had been swiped from him.

He also told the panel that he believed his actions were different from other typical robberies, claiming his case stands out and, therefore, his sentence should be cut.

"The difference between all of their crimes and mine is that they were trying to steal other people's property, they were trying to steal other people's money," Simpson said. "My crime was trying to retrieve, for my family, my own property."

Last week's parole hearing was separate from Simpson's May bid for a retrial, where he accused his ex-lawyer of bad defense, claiming he did not "break into anybody's room."