O.J. Simpson granted parole on some charges, but will remain in prison

O.J. Simpson was granted parole Wednesday on several charges related to his role in the robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel, but the former football star will remain in prison at least until 2017 on other charges.

A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who played for the Buffalo Bills team, Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of two counts of murder in the stabbing and slashing deaths in Los Angeles of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. He later lost a wrongful-death case that was brought by the victims' families.

In 2008, Simpson was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison in the Las Vegas case, but that sentence could be reduced if he wins future parole hearings and is given credit for good behavior.

The Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners said it was granting Simpson parole on charges of kidnapping, robbery and burglary with a firearm because of his positive conduct while in prison, his participation in programs for inmates, his lack of prior convictions and the fact that he has other sentences to serve that will keep him in prison.

Simpson, 66, asked for parole from Lovelock Correctional Facility during a video conference with a parole commissioner last week. It was his first parole request since his 2008 sentencing.

In the hearing, he said that during the robbery he was trying to retrieve property that he believed belonged to him. And he told the parole commissioner that while behind bars, “I missed my two younger kids, for the most part, getting through high school.”

In 2007, Simpson and five other men entered a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and at gun point took thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia related to his career and murder trial from a pair of sports collectors.