OK, we know O.J. Simpson told at least one monstrosity of a lie during his parole-board hearing on Thursday. Simpson said, “I’ve always thought I’d been pretty good with people and I basically have spent a conflict-free life. I’m not a guy that ever got in a fight on the street and with the public and everybody.’’
That declaration is preposterous. However, that’s been our O.J. for at least the last 23 years: lie and deny.
Simpson apparently forgot about the double murder he committed against his former wife Nicole Brown and restaurant waiter Ron Goldman. That surely was a conflict of major proportions.
And, of course, there’s the well-documented domestic abuse Simpson inflicted on Nicole before that, repeatedly, as her sister, Tanya Brown, told TMZ.
Yes, we remember the photos of Nicole’s battered and bruised face, neck and shoulders and we heard the audiotapes of her distress calls to 911 seeking rescue from the wrath of the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner. Thus, more conflicts.
But that’s what happens when a person, such as Simpson, finds himself at the intersection of egotism and fury. Because of those personality traits, it’s fairly easy for someone such as O.J. to exhibit selective memory while facing a parole board, which appeared to be entrenched on setting Simpson free regardless of what he said after serving nine years on a 12-count conviction, including robbery and kidnapping.
That selective memory is why the prediction here is that the Pro Football Hall of Famer again will end up at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada or somewhere similar with steep walls and barbed wire.
Give him, say, between October, his expected release, and the end of 2019.
The Las Vegas casinos probably will offer proposition bets on when Simpson again will attract the wailing sirens and blinking lights of law enforcement.
How about betting the over/under on the time period of his next illegal transgression. Here’s saying within two years. That’s a winning bet, for sure.
Many have said that O.J is too old at 70 with rickety knees to run afoul of the law. But what about any kind of violation of his parole conditions?
The parole board, presumably, will institute some type of substance-abuse provisions upon the release of Simpson, soon to be the most watched man in the world. As well as require him to remain weapon free and avoid associating with known felons and reputed low-lifes.
Suppose he commits a non-violent offense, such as packing cocaine or selling marijuana or brewing crystal meth? Suppose he’s busted for DUI? Or domestic violence against a new love interest?
You don’t need young knees to commit any of those criminal acts.
Also, let’s not forget that back in December 2000, Simpson was charged with misdemeanor battery and felony auto burglary in a road-rage case in Florida. However, in October 2001, O.J. was acquitted of all charges, of which he faced 16 years in prison.
So, he skirted jail time again, six years after a jury previously found him not guilty in the vexing double-murder criminal trial in Los Angeles that fomented one of the most polarizing episodes along racial lines in U.S. history.
Speaking of skirting time, in one of the most astonishing occurrences on the day of the Parole Hearing Seen Around the World, attorney Carl Douglas, a member of Simpson’s “Dream Team” lawyers from 1995, told MSNBC that a freed Simpson “is probably going to seek some female attention.” So, apparently, the Juice soon will be on the Loose.
Douglas just blurted that for everyone to hear. Considering Simpson’s history with women, we know he doesn’t live in a “conflict-free” zone.
What is that old maxim, “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
With that, would you want O.J. Simpson setting up shop in your neighborhood in Florida again or wherever he can find refuge. We know Fred Goldman, the father of Ron, and daughter Kim won’t let O.J. off the hook in the matter of the $33.5 million monetary judgment still hanging over Simpson’s head after he was found liable in the wrongful death lawsuit from the civil trial in 1997.
A relentless Fred Goldman told CNN after the parole hearing, “If we hear of anything in which he sounds like he’s attempting to make money like he did years ago, or he wrote a book and tried to hide the proceeds, we’ll go after him. We’re going to always be there to try and take away whatever we can.”
Take that as a promise from the Goldman family, which has been dogged in hounding Simpson since Nicole and Ron were stabbed and slashed to death on June 12, 1994. That’s when Nicole was nearly decapitated. And Ron simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time as he went to Nicole’s home to return a pair of sunglasses she left at a restaurant.
This tragedy was an up-close-and-personal crime of jealousy and passion with retaliation-filled intent. And that’s where Simpson’s obvious narcissism and bouts of rage can conspire to get him in trouble.
Again. The wait is on.
