Why O.J. Simpson Should Still Be Killing Time in Prison
For the past fifty years, O.J. Simpson has been a household name. He was a football legend beloved by millions until his infamous 1995 trial and acquittal for double murder. The subject of O.J.’s trial today is still a sore one as the majority of the United States believes O.J. to be a vicious murderer who walked free.
Trial by jury is an imperfect system. Sometimes, guilty people go free and innocent people are convicted.
In O.J. Simpson’s case, most people believe he was guilty despite the 1995 not-guilty verdict in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
More than a decade later, in 2008, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping. That sentence has been called excessive and “retribution” for the sentence he didn’t get for the murders.
He has served nine of those years and the parole board of Nevada has decided that Simpson will be released in October.
The question remains: Should O.J. Simpson be released? The answer is no. Simpson was a danger to society before he was jailed and will continue to be so on the outside.
The parole board’s members professed that their duty was to deal solely with Simpson’s 2008 conviction in their consideration of his eligibility. They also had a duty to consider his violent history, any rehabilitation attempts in jail, and his level of remorse.
Many of the facts that came out in the 1995 double-murder trial, and subsequent civil suit in which he was found liable for murder, are exceptionally relevant to whether Simpson should be allowed back on the streets.
The board asked him about his history with alcohol and the programs he has undergone in prison. He denied having an alcohol problem, and his answers reflected that he didn’t show remorse or take responsibility for his actions underlying his robbery and kidnapping conviction.
Photo from ABC News
Simpson has admitted to beating his wife, and there is ample evidence that he did. He was found liable by a civil jury for the murders of two people. He was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping.
He may have been a model inmate for the past nine years, but that isn’t the same as being a model citizen.
