OJ Simpson freed from prison after nine years

Former American football star OJ Simpson has been released from a Nevada prison, where he had been held since 2008 for a botched armed robbery at a Las Vegas casino hotel.

Simpson, 70, won his freedom from a Nevada parole board in July at a hearing that did not take into account his 1990s trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and a friend, Ron Goldman.

He reportedly left prison shortly after midnight local time.

The former pro football star turned actor and TV pitchman was found not guilty in 1995 following his sensational, 13-month trial in Los Angeles, which was televised live daily, transfixing much of the country.

A civil court jury subsequently found him liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay US$33.5 million in damages to the victims’ families, a judgment that remains largely unpaid.

Simpson’s ultimate destination remains unclear. He told parole board members he hopes to move to Florida, where he has friends and family, a plan that must be approved by probation authorities there.