O.J. Simpson was famously acquitted in the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but he's been behind bars for nearly 10 years after being convicted of an armed robbery in Las Vegas.
The former football star has a parole hearing next month and his sister Shirley Baker thinks he'll be a free man by October.
“There’s no reason why not,” Baker said in an interview with Inside Edition. "He’s there, he’s doing his time, he abided by the rules, and I just hope and pray that they will give him parole.”
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Simpson, now 69, was convicted in 2008 for participating in an armed robbery and the kidnapping of two sports-memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. He claimed that he was simply trying to get back keepsakes that had been stolen from him and didn't know the other men were carrying weapons. The jury rejected his account, and Simpson was convicted and sentenced to 33 years in a Nevada prison.
Baker also told Inside Edition that she talks to her brother once a week and visits him four times a year.
Goldman's family has also spoken out about Simpson's upcoming parole hearing. In February, his sister Kim Goldman told Good Morning America: “He did a horrible, heinous crime and I have no feeling except rot in hell." His father, Fred Goldman, said the thought of Simpson being released "fills him with disgust."
It's been over two decades since the murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman, but the trial of the 20th century continues to captivate the nation. Ryan Murphy's series American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson received critical acclaim and commercial success, and ESPN's five-part documentary O.J.: Made In America aired shortly thereafter.
Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated conducted an extensive analysis regarding Simpson's chances of being granted parole. The outlet concluded that it's likely he'll walk free by October.