On Thursday, O.J. Simpson will participate in a hearing before the Nevada Board of Parole — and if it goes well, he may obtain his freedom. Simpson has almost finished serving the mandatory nine years of his nine-to-33-year sentence at Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Facility, and he will participate in Thursday's hearing via a teleconference from Lovelock. Given Simpson's history as a former NFL star, and his acquittal in the high profile 1995 trial for the murders of Ron Goldman and his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, many people will likely want to watch Simpson's hearing, which will be televised.
The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. EST, with four commissioners meeting in Carson City and Simpson participating remotely in the presence of his attorney. In order for Simpson to be paroled, at least four commissioners on the board must vote in his favor. If the four board members meeting in Carson City cannot come to an agreement, two more commissioners will be patched in to vote. The Associated Press reported that Simpson stands a pretty good chance of being paroled. Consequently, his hearing is expected to end quickly with a decision announced that same day.
There are multiple ways to watch Simpson's parole hearing, both on cable television and online. Viewers with access to cable television can watch the hearing live on ESPN's Outside the Lines. CNN spin-off channel HLN (formerly Headline News) will also be airing the hearing on TV.
It will also be possible to watch Simpson's hearing online. The Nevada Board of Parole has compiled a website with information pertaining to Simpson's parole hearing, and the site lists a number of news and media sites that will be livestreaming the hearing. KTVU, NBC News, and ABC News are among the channels that have been granted access to the hearing, and they will all be streaming the hearing online; links to each of their livestreams are available on the Board of Parole's website. CBS News' 24-hour live stream — CBSN — will also be airing the hearing live online.
None of the people who will likely be at Simpson's hearing are expected to oppose his October release, not even his alleged victim or the former prosecutor who ensured Simpson's conviction back in 2008. Furthermore, a former guard at Lovelock told ABC News that Simpson was a model prisoner, which will probably be relevant information when the board considers whether or not Simpson will pose a threat to society upon his release.
