O.J. Simpson released from prison 26 years early for good behavior

O.J. Simpson has been released from the Nevada prison he called home for the last nine years. ‘The Juice’ was set free just after midnight on Sunday, prison officials confirmed.

Sentenced in 2008, Simpson served nine years of a 35-year sentence for his part in a botched armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel in September 2007. The former NFL star led five men to the Palace Station hotel in what he claims was an effort to retrieve personal items stolen from him. Two of the men were carrying handguns but Simpson denied he was aware of this fact.

His release from the Lovelock Correctional Center comes two months after he was granted parole. Among the reasons given for granting Simpson parole were that he complied with prison rules, had no previous criminal convictions and posed a minimal safety risk to the public.

His intended destination is unknown, but he told the parole board that he plans on moving to Florida to be with friends and family. His move is dependent on approval from the state’s probation authorities, however, Reuters reports.

The Florida Department of Corrections opposes such a move, however.

“The specter of his residing in comfort in Florida should not be an option,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to AP. “Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal.”

The 70-year old shot to stardom as one of the NFL’s all-time greats, before turning his hand to acting. His spectacular fall from grace came in 1994 when he was arrested in connection with the brutal murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

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Simpson was apprehended following an extended car chase, which was broadcast live. Like the chase, his trial became a media sensation. American audiences were captivated by the “trial of the century,” a 13-month saga that was also broadcast live.

Hewas acquitted of both murders, and no one else has ever been charged in connection with the slayings. Two years later, Simpson was found liable for the double homicide by a civil court and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families.