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WILKES-BARRE — On a hot, humid day downtown on Thursday, the news that O.J. Simpson had been granted parole produced reactions ranging from curiosity to apathy.
“He has made such a mess of his life,” said Bill Scholl of Wilkes-Barre. “Who would want anything to do with him now? He had everything — and now?”
Scholl said he wishes Simpson luck when he is released from a Nevada prison as early as Oct. 1.
“Even if you were his friend, would you want to even go out for dinner with him?” Scholl asked. “But as far as the decision to release him, I’m not surprised.”
Simpson will be released from the Lovelock Correctional Center in October after serving nine years in prison for a botched bid to retrieve sports memorabilia and other mementos he claimed had been stolen from him.
A Nevada parole board voted 4-0 Thursday to grant parole to Simpson, 70 — a former football, television and movie star — after he served the minimum of a 33-year term for armed robbery and assault with a weapon.
Simpson has been incarcerated since he was convicted in 2008. The conviction came 13 years to the day after he was acquitted of murder in 1995 in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman in Los Angeles. The case, dubbed the “Trial of the Century,” riveted the nation, with many saying Simpson had gotten away with murder.
In granting him freedom, the parole board cited Simpson’s low risk of committing another crime, his community support, and his release plans, which include moving to Florida.
Luzerne County activist Angel Jirau shrugged his shoulders and said Simpson has done his time.
“The nation and the people should move on,” Jirau said. “Maybe he can once again become a role model. Hopefully, he has learned from this experience.”
Jirau said the country is facing far more important issues than Simpson’s future.
“There are many things to be concerned about in this country,” he said. “Actually, I’m more concerned about (President) Donald Trump than I am about O.J. Simpson.”
Mark Bronsburg, owner of Mimmo’s Pizza on Public Square, said Simpson was convicted, sent to jail, did his time, was eligible for parole, and it was granted.
“What can you say?” Bronsburg said. “He did what he was supposed to do while in prison. Was there really any other recourse?”
Bronsburg said there always will be debate over the murders of Simpson’s ex-wife and her friend.
Kathy Alaimo of Dallas said she wasn’t surprised by the parole board’s decision.
“Maybe now he can start working on paying off the Goldman family,” she said, referring to the terms of a civil case in which Simpson was found liable for the two deaths.
Most people interviewed Thursday in Wilkes-Barre said they hadn’t been following the Simpson case, and many said they didn’t know who he was.
Stephanie Jennings of Nanticoke said she was unfamiliar with Simpson and his past.
“But his name sounds like a really cool rapper,” she said. “When I first heard the name, I immediately thought of the TV show The Simpsons. When all of that (case) happened, my biggest concern in life was getting my homework done.”