CARSON CITY Nev. O.J. Simpson won a small victory Wednesday in his bid for freedom as Nevada granted him parole on some of his 2008 convictions for kidnapping and armed robbery involving the holdup of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel room.
But the decision doesn't mean the 66 year old Simpson will be leaving prison anytime soon. The former NFL star was convicted on multiple charges and still faces at least four more years behind bars on sentences that were ordered to run consecutively.
The Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners released its decision in favor of Simpson's parole request. Commissioners noted Simpson's positive institutional record and his participation in programs addressing behavior that led to incarceration.
The board noted Simpson had no previous criminal convictions and still has consecutive sentences to serve in the Las Vegas case.
In Los Angeles Simpson was tried for murder and acquitted in the 1994 deaths of his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
In a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press Goldman's father and sister Fred and Kim Goldman said they respect the legal process but now feel a sense of vulnerability.
This is not our personal case against Simpson but since he's been incarcerated there has been a reprieve and calm for us they said. It is unsettling for our family to know that the person we believe responsible for Ron and Nicole's murder could soon have his freedom.
Simpson and his legal team were pleased with the ruling.
We expected it Patricia Palm one of Simpson's current lawyers told the AP shortly after the order was issued. There is no reason not to grant him parole. I'm glad they did what they should have done.
Palm said Simpson called from prison to let her know of the board's decision.
He's very happy and grateful she said.
The parole becomes effective Oct. 2. Then Simpson will begin serving the minimum term on four concurrent sentences imposed for using a weapon during the 2007 robbery. He will have another parole hearing on those sentences in a year.
After that he has two more consecutive terms for assault with a deadly weapon said David Smith spokesman for the board.
Simpson appeared before a two member Nevada parole panel on July 25 to plead for leniency. He expressed regret for his actions and said he's tried to be a model inmate while behind bars.
Lovelock Correctional Center officials say he's had no disciplinary actions against him.
Simpson was convicted in December 2008 on charges including kidnapping robbery burglary and assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years for the 2007 stickup of two memorabilia dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
During last week's parole hearing a graying Simpson told Parole Commissioner Susan Jackson and hearing officer Robin Bates a retired Nevada prison warden that he was sorry for his actions.
I just wish I never went to that room Simpson said. He added that he has made amends with Beardsley and Fromong.
While in prison Simpson has earned pennies an hour working in the prison gym keeping equipment sanitized and umpiring and coaching games in the prison yard.
He said he made a promise to the warden when he arrived at Lovelock 90 miles east of Reno that he would be the best person they ever had at the facility. He added I think for the most part I've kept my word on that.
Simpson also said he's acted as jailhouse counselor of sorts to other inmates some of whom are serving time for similar crimes.
But he said his deed was different.
They were trying to steal other people's property Simpson said of other prisoners. They were trying to steal other people's money. My crime was trying to retrieve for my family my own property.
Simpson's best chance at freedom lies with Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell who is considering whether he deserves a new trial.
During a May hearing Palm and Ozzie Fumo Simpson's current lawyers argued that his trial attorney Yale Galanter botched Simpson's defense and had a conflict of interest in the case.
Bell has yet to issue a decision. If she rules in Simpson's favor prosecutors will have to decide wither to retry him offer a plea deal or set him free with credit for time served.
Loading Slideshow O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson 1968. (AP)
O.J. SimpsonSouthern California's O.J. Simpson displays an engraved silver case the Maxwell Award presented to him in Philadelphia Jan. 20 1969 when he was honored as college football's outstanding player of 1968.
O.J. SimpsonSouthern Cal's O.J. Simpson poses with the Heisman Trophy at New York's Downtown Athletic Club in this Dec. 5 1968 photo.
O.J. SimpsonSouthern California's O.J. Simpson tries to break a California tackle as he picks up five yards in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in this Nov. 9 1968 file photo. Simpson set the standard for landslide Heisman Trophy victories in 1968.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson running back for the Buffalo Bills posed with his first wife Marguerite daughter Arnella 4 and son Jason 2 in Buffalo N.Y. on Oct. 10 1973.
O.J. SimpsonFootball greats Joe Namath left and O. J. Simpson right stand in front of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio one day before their official induction into the sports shrine on August 2 1985. (Mark Duncan AP)
O.J. SimpsonThe five enshrines into the Pro Football Hall of Fame pose with their bronze busts in front of the shrine after induction ceremonies Saturday Aug. 3 1985 in Canton Ohio. O.J. Simpson is second from the right.
O.J. SimpsonAmerican athlete O.J. Simpson ran with the Olympic torch as the crowd cheers in dowtown Los Angeles Calif. on July 21 1984 one week before the opening ceremonies of the XXIII Summer Olympic Games.
O.J. SimpsonSan Francisco 49ers running back O.J. Simpson is escorted from the field by Atlanta Police after ending his career in the NFL on December 16 1979 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta Ga.
O.J. SimpsonSan Francisco 49ers running back O.J. Simpson in 1978. (AP)
O.J. SimpsonFormer football star O.J. Simpson and then friend Nicole Brown get together at party on the night of May 6 1980 in Beverly Hills. The couple attended the introduction party for the new puzzle branded in America as the Rubik's Cube.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson kisses his fiancee Nicole Brown at Dodger Stadium during a game against the Cincinnati Reds in August 1980.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson appears at the Pediatric AIDS Foundation A Time for Heroes 1994 picnic/carnival in Los Angeles on June 5 1994. (Donna Gilmartin AP)
O.J. SimpsonPolice tape surrounds the Bundy Drive home of Nicole Brown Simpson ex wife of former NFL great O.J. Simpson after she apparently murdered in June 1994. The bodies of the 35 year old woman and a 26 year old man victims of a stabbing victims were found at the home.
O.J. SimpsonAn unidentified police investigator walks past blood stained towels in the entry way to a Los Angeles condominium belonging to Nicole Brown Simpson 35 year old ex wife of former running back O.J. Simpson.
O.J. SimpsonBlood stained sheets are strewn along the entryway of the Los Angeles area condominium of Nicole Brown Simpson Sunday June 12 1994 the day after she and Ronald Goldman were murdered there late Saturday night.
O.J. SimpsonThis is a 1991 California Department of Motor Vehicles photo of Ronald Lyle Goldman 26 who was found murdered along with Nicole Brown SImpson on June 12 1994.
O.J. SimpsonLos Angeles Police Department personnel talk to a handcuffed O.J. Simpson at his home in Los Angeles on June 13 1994. Just after midnight Simpson's ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and an unidentified man were found dead outside her Los Angeles home. Simpson's attorney showed up and after talking to police they removed the handcuffs before taking Simpson for questioning.
O.J. SimpsonFormer pro running back O.J. Simpson hangs his head as he sits in his attorney's car on June 13 1994 after being questioned by Los Angeles Police into the death of his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson. The bodies of the 35 year old woman and her 26 year old friend Ronald Goldman apparent stabbing victims were discovered after midnight June 12 in her Los Angeles area home.
O.J. SimpsonA white Ford Bronco driven by Al Cowlings and carrying O.J. Simpson is trailed by police cars as it travels on a southern California freeway on June 17 1994. Cowlings and Simpson led authorities on a chase after Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his ex wife and her friend.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson is shown in this file photo with daughter Sydney and son Justin as they arrive at the funeral for his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson on June 16 1994.
O.J. SimpsonThis is the booking mug for O.J. Simpson taken June 17 1994 after he surrendered to authorities at his Brentwood estate in Los Angeles. Simpson was charged with two counts of murder in connection with the slayings of his ex wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman.
O.J. SimpsonJurors were shown this Polaroid photo one of two found in Nicole Simpson's safe deposit box during testimony on Feb. 6 1995 in the O.J. Simpson double murder trial. Older sister Denise Brown testified that she took the pictures a few days after a 1989 beating.
O.J. SimpsonIn this June 21 1995 file photo O.J. Simpson holds up his hands before the jury after putting on a pair of gloves similar to the infamous bloody gloves during his double murder trial in Los Angeles.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson wears gloves as he stands with his wife Nicole on the sidelines of Texas Stadium in Irving Texas during the Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 24 1993. A prosecutor accused O.J. Simpson of skipping his daily dose of arthritis medicine so his hands would swell making them too large to fit into gloves linked to murder.
O.J. SimpsonProsecutor William Hodgman and defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. stand during discussion with Judge Lance Ito at a hearing for O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles on July 29 1994. Simpson and attorney Robert Shapiro listen.
O.J. SimpsonFormer NFL player O.J. Simpson is transferred to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on Sept. 16 2007. A prosecutor in Las Vegas said O.J. Simpson fac ed a lot of time in connection with an alleged armed robbery.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson appears in a Clark County Justice courtroom for his arraignment in Las Vegas on Sept. 19 2007.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson center is flanked by his lawyers Yale Galanter right and Gabriel Grasso during his arraignment in a Clark County Justice courtroom for his arraignment in Las Vegas.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson leaves the Clark County Detention Center after he was granted bail in Las Vegas in September 2007.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson appears in court during his trial in Las Vegas in September 2008. Simpson faces 12 charges including felony kidnapping armed robbery and conspiracy.
O.J. SimpsonRoom 1203 at the Palace Station Hotel Casino is seen in Las Vegas. The room is where O.J. Simpson allegedly committed felony kidnapping armed robbery and conspiracy related to a Sept. 13 2007 confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson appears in court during his trial in Las Vegas in September 2008. Simpson faced 12 charges including felony kidnapping armed robbery and conspiracy.
O.J. SimpsonIn this 2008 file photo O.J. Simpson is taken into custody after being found guilty on all 12 charges including felony kidnapping armed robbery and conspiracy.
O.J. SimpsonO.J. Simpson speaks during his sentencing hearing at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Dec. 5 2008. Sitting right to Simpson is his lawyer Yale Galanter. Simpson was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for a hotel armed robbery after a judge rejected his apology and said It was much more than stupidity.
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