O.J. “The Juice” Simpson was the first pick in the 1969 NFL draft and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. He effortlessly became an iconic actor by 1988 and was acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife in 1995.  

Later in 2008, he was found guilty on accounts of kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and conspiracy charges. Finally, Simpson has been released from Lovelock Correctional Center on Oct. 1.

Simpson, now 70 years old, has been granted parole after serving nine years at Lovelock in northern Nevada, but wishes to serve his parole in Florida where his family resides.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, however, released a statement hoping to influence the Department of Corrections to deny his transfer.

“The specter of his residing in comfort in Florida should not be an option,” Bondi said. “our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal.”

Simpson’s attorney, Malcolm Lavernge, was angered by this statement. He told the Tampa Bay Times that she had no business in Simpson’s case and that her opinion was irrelevant due to her position within the state.

“It’s virtually a foregone conclusion that Simpson will be moving to Florida when he chooses and once Nevada approves it,” Lavernge said. “That’s handled by the Nevada Division of Parole and Florida Department of Corrections, not the attorney general.”

Simpson was the first pick in the first round by the Buffalo Bills in 1969. He had over 11,000 rushing yards, 61 touchdowns, 2142 receiving yards and caught 14 passes in the end zone. In college, he led all running backs across the country and received the Heisman Trophy before joining the NFL.

After being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1985, Simpson took a different career route and took to acting. He started off with commercials and was then offered larger roles including the two “Naked Gun” movies, “The Towering Inferno” and “Capricorn One.”  

In 1995, Simpson was put on trial in California for the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was found not guilty as his defense team, widely referred to as the “Dream Team,” was able to convince the jurors that the DNA found on sight was tampered with, or may have not been a credible source due to how new and possibly unreliable forensic science was 22 years ago.

When the verdict was announced on Oct. 3, 1995, 100 million people watched the judge deem Simpson not guilty. The families of the deceased found him liable for their loved one’s deaths and was ordered to pay the relatives $33.5 million.

Just over 10 years later, Simpson would be put on trial again in Nevada for 10 counts that included burglary, kidnapping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. It was said Simpson entered a hotel room in Las Vegas with a group of men behind him and robbed a sports memorabilia dealer at gunpoint.

He admitted to taking the items, but claimed they were originally stolen from him. After his trial, he would spend the next nine years at Lovelock Correctional Center and would not be released until earlier this week.

Simpson’s story is that of an iconic sports hero who got mixed up in some less than favorable affairs. He is finally out on parole and hoping to return to a semi-normal life in Florida with his family.