General News OJ Simpson granted parole

What an epic fall from grace!

 

Lol good ol OJ. As a kid that trial lasted 5 years.

 

As irksome as it may be, Simpson was currently incarcerated for a robbery in Las Vegas, not for the murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. The justice system does not serve to punish people later for crimes they were already acquitted of. His sentence for the robbery as already the maximum given, and I'm sure the murders played a role in his sentencing. This was the right decision to make from a legal standpoint.

 

I think the reason he got off so easy is because he was a professional football player. His celebrity status is what got him off on the murders, and what is releasing him now. If it had been just another guy that murdered his ex, and committed a robbery and kidnapping, he would have gotten life with no chance of parole. Possibly death. I think it's a miscarriage of justice that celebrity status makes you above the law. How big your bank account is does the same thing.

 

I understand the sentiment, but I think a more precise way to put it is that money and power allow you to experience the law as it should be applied. If most people incarcerated on drug, robbery or manslaughter offences had the resources and prominence to defend themselves adequately and cause real concerns about perceptions of impartiality for less scrupulous prosecutors, more people in the US would get sentences and parole terms like this.

I don't think this is too lenient - I think it's realistically what we should hope for from more people's convictions, with greater chances for appeal and review and generous parole terms if recidivism isn't a major concern.