After spending nine years in prison for a Las Vegas robbery, the former NFL star walked out of the Lovelock Correctional Institute on Sunday, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.
Simpson, 70, who served his time at the Lovelock Correctional Facility in Nevada, was granted parole at a hearing in July. The earliest date he was eligible for release was Oct. 1.
Simpson was sentenced to prison following an arrest in 2007 during a botched robbery in Las Vegas, when he led a group of men into a hotel and casino to steal sports memorabilia at gunpoint. The former Buffalo Bills star contended the memorabilia and other personal items belonged to him.
At his parole hearing in July, Simpsons said, “All I want is my property. … I wasn’t there to steal from anybody.”
Simpson reassured the board he would be successful meeting the conditions of his parole before it was granted, saying, “I’m not a guy who lived a criminal life.”
Simpson’s attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, said on Friday that upon his release, Simpson wants to go to Florida, where he can “see his family and hug his family on the outside of prison.”
“He wants to eat seafood, he wants to eat steak,” LaVergne said. “He wants to enjoy the very simple pleasures that he hasn’t enjoyed in nine years.”
Tom Scotto, one of Simpson’s longtime friends, said, “All he wants to do is spend time with his family and friends and his kids. And play a little golf.”
But Scotto added that Simpson won’t be shying away from the public eye.
“We’re not gonna hide,” Scotto said. “He’s gonna do the same things he always did.”
Over 20 years ago, Simpson went on trial for the 1994 killings of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman. On Oct. 3, 1995, at the end of a televised trial that captivated the nation, Simpson was acquitted of all criminal charges.
Simpson was found liable for the killings in a 1997 civil trial. He has always maintained his innocence.
Ron Goldman’s father and sister, Fred and Kim Goldman, said in a statement last week that they will continue pursuing the judgment awarded to them in the civil trial — an amount they say has climbed to $60 million.
