OJ Simpson will be up for parole this Summer and according to analysis from Sports Illustrated legal analyst and University of New Hampshire law professor Michael McCann and co-writer Jon Wertheim, he may be granted early release.
OJ, now 70 years old, has been locked up at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada since 2008, when he was sentenced to 33 years for a number of charges including conspiracy, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon- all stemming from an incident at a Las Vegas hotel room where he tried to reclaim memorabilia.
According to the SI report;
"The decision to grant parole is, by definition, discretionary. But it is a decision that Thomas Patton, a former chairman of the parole board in Nevada, stresses is conducted through a "very comprehensive review," weighing 11 largely objective factors. Between -1 and +2 points are allocated for each criterion. Inmates exceeding five points are classified as a "medium" or "high" risk and are unlikely to be granted parole. Score fewer than five points, and odds swing the other way. In 2013, Simpson scored three points, falling into the "low risk" category. He seems likely to do well again in 2017."
McCann and Wertheim outlined the 11 factors that will go into the decision to grant OJ parole, as well as his score in each:
- Age at the time of first arrest (0 points)
- Prior probation or parole revocation (0 points)
- Employment history immediately before arrest (0 points)
- Offense leading to current or prior convictions (2 points)
- History of drug or alcohol abuse (0 points or 1 point)
- Gender (1 point)
- Current age (-1 point)
- Active gang membership (0 points)
- Completed education, vocational or treatment program during prison term (-1 point or 0 points)
- Disciplinary write-ups (-1 point)
- Custody level (0 points)
The sum of those numbers falls between 0-2, meaning he'll be considered low risk and a good candidate for parole.
Las Vegas criminal defense attorney Daniel Hill told Sports Illustrated;
"He's the kind of person who gets paroled. He has done a significant amount of time and, by all accounts, hasn't caused any problems [while in prison]."