O.J.
SIMPSON WAS UP FOR PAROLE, AND TODAY WAS THE DAY THAT HE
HAD HIS PAROLE HEARING.
AND SO, THE NEWS TODAY IS THAT HE NOT ONLY HAD HIS HEARING, BUT
THE BOARD HAS VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO GRANT HIM PAROLE.
AND AS A RESULT, HE COULD BE RELEASED AS EARLY AS THE
BEGINNING OF OCTOBER, OF THIS YEAR.
NOW, I WANT TO SHOW YOU VIDEO OF HIS PAROLE HEARING, AND SOME OF
HIS JUSTIFICATIONS FOR WHAT HAPPENED, OR WHAT HE DID AND HOW
HE REACTED, BUT UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS NOT IN PRISON RIGHT NOW
BECAUSE OF THE NICOLE KIDMAN CASE --
NICOLE SIMPSON.
NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON.
I'M SORRY, NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON CASE.
OR THE NICOLE KIDMAN CASE, THAT IS ALSO A SEPARATE CASE.
NO NO-NO, NICOLE KIDMAN IS NOT INVOLVED IN THIS IN ANY WAY
SHAPE OR FORM, I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVE HER
ON MY MIND.
JUSTICE SHOULD HAVE ITS EYES WIDE SHUT.
ANYWAY, HE WAS IMPRISONED BECAUSE HE WAS CONVICTED OF
ARMED ROBBERY, AND THAT HAPPENED IN LAS VEGAS, EIGHT YEARS AGO.
THAT'S THE CONTEXT, LET'S TOOK TAKE A LOOK AT THE VIDEO FROM
HIS PAROLE HEARING.
MISTER SIMPSON, BEFORE I CAST MY VOTE, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW
THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE ARE A FAIR BOARD, WE BELIEVE THAT WE
ARE A CONSISTENT BOARD.
I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT CONSISTENCY ALSO GOES TO PAROLE,
AND WE DO NOT LOOK KINDLY UPON PAROLE VIOLATIONS, AND IF I CAST
MY VOTE TO GRANT, AND IT INCLUDES THE HEARING, OUR
EXPECTATION WOULD BE THAT YOU NOT VIOLATE EVEN THE SIMPLEST
CONDITION OF PAROLE.
HAVING SAID THAT, I AM PREPARED TO CAST A VOTE, I AM PREPARED TO
ASK THE COMMISSIONERS TO SET CONDITIONS.
IF THAT HAPPENS, WE WILL PRODUCE AN ORDER SOMETIME IN THE NEXT
15 TO 20 MINUTES THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO YOU AT THE
INSTITUTION, AND IT WILL BECOME A PUBLIC RECORD.
SO, BASED ON ALL OF THAT, MISTER SIMPSON I DO VOTE TO GRANT
PAROLE WHEN ELIGIBLE, AND THAT WILL CONCLUDE THIS HEARING.
THANK YOU.
[INAUDIBLE]
ALL RIGHT.
SO, DURING THE HEARING HE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE ROBBERY ITSELF,
AND HE SAID THAT THE TWO MEMORABILIA DEALERS THAT HE
DECIDED TO TARGET DIDN'T ñ YOU KNOW, THEY HAD STOLEN THAT
MERCHANDISE, OR THAT MATERIAL FROM HIM; IT WAS RIGHTFULLY
HIS, AND AS A RESULT, IT WAS THE REASON WHY HE DECIDED TO
PULL OUT A GUN, AND THREATEN THEM, AND ESSENTIALLY ROB
THEM AT GUNPOINT.
BUT IT'S INTERESTING, BECAUSE HE HAD GOOD BEHAVIOR, APPARENTLY,
BEHIND BARS, AND SO HAD ALREADY CUT DOWN HIS SENTENCE, BUT
THEN, YOU KNOW, SINCE HE WAS UP FOR PAROLE HE DECIDED TO
MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS HEARING, AND THEY HAVE UNANIMOUSLY
DECIDED TO LET HIM GO.
THE HEARING WENT ON FOR A WHILE, AND MY FAVORITE LINE FROM THE
HEARING ñ THERE ARE TWO OF THEM, BUT HERE'S MY FAVORITE: O.J.
SIMPSON SAID, "I BELIEVE IN THE JURY SYSTEM."
YEAH, NO F-ING SHIT YOU BELIEVE IN THE JURY SYSTEM.
AND THE OTHER ONE WAS, HE SAID, "NO ONE HAS EVER ACCUSED ME
OF PULLING A WEAPON OF ANY KIND, ON ANYONE."
REALLY?
EXCEPT FOR THOSE TWO PEOPLE THAT YOU BACKED UP THAT NIGHT
WITH THOSE KNIVES?
I MEAN, THE TRUTH IS, LOOK, THE ONE STRIKING THING, I WATCHED
IT, YOU ALMOST FEEL GUILTY FOR WATCHING IT, BECAUSE YOU FEEL
LIKE YOU ARE A PART OF THIS CIRCUS, AND I GUESS I WAS, IN A
VOYEURISTIC WAY, BUT HE HAD A CERTAIN ARROGANCE ABOUT HIM
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS, TALKING ABOUT THE EFFECT OF
ALCOHOL ON HIS ACTIONS THAT NIGHT, AND JUST IN GENERAL, AND
HIS HANDLING OF ñ HAD HE TAKEN ANY COURSES WHILE HE WAS IN
ñ BECAUSE THEY RECOMMEND CERTAIN COURSES ñ
AND HE HADN'T TAKEN THE ALCOHOL COURSE, AND HE SAID, I
REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ALCOHOL.
LOOK, THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE, BUT AT THE END OF IT ALL,
HE PROBABLY SERVE LONGER THAN HE SHOULD'VE FOR THAT CRIME,
AND HE DIDN'T SERVE AT ALL FOR THE CRIME HE SHOULD'VE SERVED.
LOOK, YOU CAN'T ASK THIS BOARD TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT A CRIME
THAT THEY ARE NOT DISCUSSING.
THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS ROBBERY.
AND THEY SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED THAT ASPECT OF IT DURING THE
HEARING; THEY SAID, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF LETTERS FROM PEOPLE ON
BOTH SIDES, SAYING THAT WE BOTH TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION HIS
PREVIOUS ACCUSATIONS, THE COMMITTAL CASE WHERE HE WAS
ACQUITTED, AND A CIVIL CASE WITH THE GOLDMANS, WHERE HE WAS
FORCED TO PAY DAMAGES, BUT THEY SAID WE COULD NOT TAKE THAT INTO
CONSIDERATION, AND THAT'S WHERE I FIND MYSELF, IS ñ AND A
MAJORITY OF AMERICANS, LITERALLY, ACCORDING TO USA
TODAY, FEEL THAT HE SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE HE IS
GUILTY FOR THE MURDERS, AND THAT HE SHOULD GO TO JAIL MORE
IN NEVADA BECAUSE OF THAT CASE, BUT YOU CAN DO THAT.
WHEN I FOUND STRIKING IS, OF THE FOUR PANELISTS THAT WERE MAKING
THESE DECISIONS, ONE WAS WEARING A FOOTBALL TIME.
REALLY?
HE'S WEARING A KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIE.
NOW, OJ PLAYED FOR THE CHARGERS IN COLLEGE, AND THEN HE
PLAYED FOR THE 49ERS AND THE BILLS, SO WE DIDN'T PLAY
FOR THE CHIEFS, AS FAR AS I KNOW, BUT JUST THE IDEA.
LIKE, WHY WOULD YOU WEAR A FOOTBALL TIE?
I JUST PICTURE HIM LOOKING THROUGH, ARGYLE, STRIPES,
POLKADOTS, BUT TODAY IS OJ DAY, I HAVE THE FOOTBALL TIE,
THAT IS HAPPENING.
AND IT'S EITHER A MESSAGE, LIKE I'M WITH YOU, FOOTBALL -WISE,
OR, I'M NOT WITH YOUR TEAM.
YEAH.
IT'S JUST SO WEIRD TO ME, AND THERE ARE MOMENTS DURING
IT, DURING THE HEARING WHERE HE SAYS, I HAVE NOT MADE AN
EXCUSE THE WHOLE TIME.
BUT ALL THE QUESTIONS HE ANSWERS THAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, THAT I
THINK SEEM OBVIOUS TO ME, AS TO WHAT YOU WOULD SAY, EVEN IF YOU
DON'T MEAN IT IS, I SHOULD NEVER HAVE DONE THAT, AND HE DID SAY
ALONG THE WAY, I WISH IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, I TAKE FULL
RESPONSIBILITY, BUT THEN WHEN THE RUBBER REALLY HITS THE ROAD,
IS HE SUPPOSED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE HAS THE HEALTHY APPROACH
TO THIS, THAT THE COMMITTAL SYSTEM SEEKS ñ YOU KNOW, THE
PRISON SYSTEM SEEKS TO MAKE YOU REAL MOTIVATED TOWARD, IS HE
JUST AS I WISH HE HAD NEVER CALLED ME.
HE'S NOT SAYING, I WISH I DIDN'T GO ALONG, NOT, I WISH I DIDN'T
DO THIS, IT'S, I WISH THAT PERSON DIDN'T MAKE ME DO IT.
HE CONTRADICTS HIMSELF A LOT, AND THAT WAS WHAT I NOTICED.
AND I WATCHED IT AS WELL, BUT I DIDN'T NECESSARILY FEEL GUILTY
ABOUT IT, I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW,
WHETHER OR NOT HIS PERSONALITY HAS CHANGED FROM DOING SOME HARD
TIME, AND TO BE QUITE HONEST TO YOU IT DID NOT SEEM LIKE IT.
THERE WAS SOME JOKING GOING AROUND, HE TALKED ABOUT IF YOU
WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET RELEASED EARLY HE WOULD GO LIVE
IN FLORIDA BECAUSE HE DOESN'T THINK THEY WANT HIM IN NEVADA.
AND HE MADE THAT JOKE, AND EVERYONE STARTED LAUGHING.
I'M LIKE, THIS IS KIND OF SERIOUS GUYS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HARD TIME HE IS DOING EITHER, BECAUSE
IF YOU TALK TO PEOPLE IN THE JOINT ñ THAT'S WHAT WE CALL IT.
IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL IT?
THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT HE IS A ROCK STAR THERE.
THEY TAKE PICTURES WITH HIM, AND THE GUARDS WANT AUTOGRAPHS, ALL
OF THAT STUFF GOES DOWN, SO I FEEL AS IF, LOOK, IT'S NOT A
PARTY TO HAVE TO COACH THE PRISON BASKETBALL TEAM EVERY
DAY, BUT AS PRISONS GO, THAT'S A BETTER THING TO HAVE TO DO THEN,
YOU KNOW...
I WILL SAY THOUGH, I SAW IT IN HIS EYES, SHE TOOK HER TIME TO
SAY IT, AS YOU SAW, TO SAY, IF I DO CAST MY VOTE, TALK TALK TALK,
AND YOU JUST SAW HIM, THE NINE YEARS ARE REALLY ON HIS
SHOULDERS, AND OF COURSE HE WOULD WANT TO NOT IAN PRISON FOR
NINE YEARS.
THIS IS THE SYSTEM, SIR, WHEN I HEARD HE WAS OUT I WAS
LIKE, OKAY, ALL RIGHT, HE'S OUT OF PRISON.
HE WENT BACK IN AND TRIED TO STEAL BACK STUFF.
AND WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL ARTICLES THAT WERE
STOLEN, HE SAID THAT A CALIFORNIA COURT HAD FOUND THAT
THAT WAS HIS PROPERTY, SO HE THINKS, BUT THE WEIRD THING IS
HOW HE PROCESSES IT IN HIS MIND, TO THIS DAY, AND I CAN SEE, OVER
NINE YEARS YOU WOULD GET MORE AND MORE FRUSTRATED, NOT LESS
AND LESS FRUSTRATED, WITH THE IDEA THAT NAG'S IN THE BACK OF
HIS MIND.
LIKE, YES, THE PEOPLE I WAS WITH DID HAVE GUNS TO TAKE THIS
BACK, BUT WE WERE STEALING BACK MY STUFF.
YEAH, LOOK, I GET IT, BUT YOU CAN'T BRANDISH A WEAPON,
YOU CAN'T THREATEN SOMEONE WITH A WEAPON.
HE SAYS HE DIDN'T.
I KNOW HE SAYS HE DIDN'T, BUT THERE WERE GUNS INVOLVED.
WHETHER HE WAS CARRYING THEM OR NOT, THERE WERE GUNS INVOLVED.
YOU CAN'T DO THAT, AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY THEY FOUND
HIM GUILTY, BUT I LIKE HOW YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE
THAT PLAYS INTO THE CONTRADICTIONS.
I TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IT WAS MY STUFF.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
I DIDN'T HAVE A GUN, THE OTHER GUYS HAD A GUN.
WAS THE FIRST TIME I EVER HAD SECURITY.
SO, YEAH, IT WAS THE NON-APOLOGY APOLOGY.