"There have been threats made" against O.J. Simpson, lawyer says
O.J. Simpson is serving his final months in prison in protective custody after winning parole. Prison officials believe he's a potential target for other inmates.
A Nevada parole board approved Simpson's release at a hearing last week. He's served nearly nine years of his 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping, and could be freed as early as October 1.
In a conversation on "CBS This Morning," Simpson's attorney, Malcolm Lavergne, described his client's current situation as being "kind of hybrid."
"He's not in protective custody, but he's not in the general population, it's a hybrid," Lavergne explained. "They're doing that just for his basic protection, making sure no one takes a shot at him. Or no one on the outside is asking people on the inside to take some last minute shot for some type of fame and notoriety.
"I concur with that decision," he added.
Lavergne says safety remains a concern as "there have been threats from the outside" made against the former football star.
"Society has had its pound of flesh against Mr. Simpson," he explained. "When he comes out, I think that needs to be respected that whatever society has had against Mr. Simpson, it's time to move on from that."
During their conversation, co-host Gayle King asked Lavergne about the Goldman family's civil lawsuit, to which he responded, "Nobody cares about the Goldmans' judgment. It's a private lawsuit. The Goldmans are free to do whatever they want with the judgment and collect on it."
In 1997, Simpson was ordered to pay the family more than $20 million over Ron Goldman's death, although he was acquitted in criminal court of the murders of Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
When asked if he agreed with a statement Simpson made to the parole board claiming he's lived "a conflict-free life," Lavergne said, "I thought that was an appropriate remark to make. He's one of the most famous and notorious people on the planet. If you look at the 70 years, you're thinking of a couple incidents in his life. But for most of his life, he's led a very good life as a good citizen."
Lavergne described his client as "a people person": "He loves people. Loves to interact with them. I think people have to realize that he's now a convicted felon. He's going to be on the outside living his life as a convicted felon on parole."
Simpson's attorney went on to state that people who are "writing books (and) doing TV shows" are "rubbing him the wrong way right now."
"He does feel that he's being pimped out a lot by people who are just capitalizing on his notoriety," Lavergne said. "You see it every day. I'm not sure why people have been doing it for a quarter of a century, but it's rubbing him the wrong way. That's something that, to the extent that we can, will probably start addressing."
According to Lavergne, Simpson has no plans to visit Nicole Brown Simpson's grave site as previously reported by other media outlets. He said Simpson, now 70, plans to wind up living in Florida, where he "is going to try and enjoy his life golfing, and with family and with friends."
