O.J. Simpson won a small parole victory today, but that doesn’t mean he’ll see outside of a prison cell anytime soon because he was only granted parole on some of his convictions.
The former NFL football star earned parole from the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners Wednesday, but he will still be behind bars for at least another four years because his sentences have been ordered to run consecutively, notes The LA Times. He has already spent nearly five years in prison after being convicted in 2008 on charges that included kidnapping, robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon when he tried to get back memorabilia from dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong in 2007.
According to The Associated Press, the commissioners noted Simpson’s “positive institutional record,” adding that he has taken part in programs that covered “behavior that led to incarceration.”
Patricia Palm, a lawyer for Simpson, told the AP that the news was expected. “There is no reason not to grant him parole. I'm glad they did what they should have done,” she said, adding that Simpson is “very happy and grateful.”
The parole starts on Oct. 2, at which point he’ll start serving the minimum on four consecutive sentences. Next, year, he’ll have another parole hearing for those sentences. He also has two consecutive terms for assault with a deadly weapon.
The news came after last week’s appearance before a parole board, in which Simpson asked for leniency, pointing to his good behavior in prison.
Meanwhile, Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell is also considering a new trial for Simpson.