OJ Simpson released on parole, prison official says

Former American football star had been serving 33 years for armed robbery

OJ Simpson is released from Lovelock Correctional Centre, Nevada (Nevada Department of Corrections)

OJ Simpson, the former American football star, has been released from a Nevada prison after serving nine years of his sentence.

He was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison in 2008, on charges of assault, kidnapping and armed burglary after attempting to steal his own sports memorabilia from a hotel room in Las Vegas.

In July, a parole board voted unanimously that he should be released early, after hearing Mr Simpson had been a “model inmate” during his time at Lovelock Correctional Centre.

Simpson’s lawyers have previously argued that his 2008 sentence was disproportionate to his crime, and was intended to compensate for his 1995 acquittal.

Nevada Department of Corrections posted images and footage of Mr Simpson being released early on Sunday.

The former athlete and actor was notoriously acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995.

The families of the deceased later successfully sued him in civil court. In the second trial, a jury found Mr Simpson liable for their deaths, and ordered him to pay $33.5 million dollars to the Goldman and Brown families.

But lawyers acting for the families have said Mr Simpson has only paid a tiny portion of the overall debt.

David Cook, attorney for the Goldman family, said on Wednesday the judgement amount has nearly doubled with interest over the years to more than $65m and said the family will continue to seek payment.

The 70-year-old told the parole board that he wanted to live in Florida, but the Florida Department of Corrections said officials had not yet received a transfer request.

Mr Simpson will still be subject to parole supervision for another five years.