Over the last two decades former football star O.J. Simpson has become more well-known for his exploits in the courtroom than on the gridiron. Simpson mad another appearance in court on Thursday when he asked a Nevada parole board for leniency on the 33-year sentence he was given for kidnapping, robbery and burglary, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Simpson has been imprisoned at Lovelock Correction Center since 2008 after a botched attempt to regain sports memorabilia that he claims was stolen from him. If the parole board decides in Simpson's favor he will not be released from prison but he will have three years taken off of his sentence. Some of his sentences are being served concurrently but other sentences including the kidnapping and robbery charges are to be served consecutively, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Speaking to the parole board via video conference Simpson said that he has been a good prisoner who has missed out on a lot of life while imprisoned, according to CNN.
"I missed my two younger kids who worked hard getting through high school, I missed their college graduations," Simpson said. "I missed my sister's funeral. I missed all the birthdays."
Simpson compared himself to other prisoners who are serving time for similar crimes and noted that he was trying to steal his own property as opposed to the property of others.
"The difference between all of their crimes and mine is that they were trying to steal other people's property, they were trying to steal other people's money," Simpson said. "My crime was trying to retrieve, for my family, my own property."
The parole board will most likely not be looking to hear excuses but would rather hear that Simpson has remorse for the crimes he committed, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
"My intent was not to rob from anybody," Simpson said. "I knew both of these guys who had my stuff. I was a little upset with them, and I think I wasn't as civil as I should have been. I am sorry for what has happened...I've apologized. They've apologized."
The parole board hearing is not related to Simpson's attempt to be granted a retrial, which is still pending a decision by a Las Vegas judge. Simpson feels that he should be granted a retrial because he claims that his lawyer not only did a horrible job defending him but that he had a conflict of interest in the case, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
