NV Democrat Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo Helps Free O.J. Simpson

July 21, 2017

On July 20, during former football star OJ Simpson’s parole hearing, Simpson’s attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, read out a letter from Nevada Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo in support of releasing Simpson from prison as early as this October.

Fumo is a former attorney of Simpson’s, according to the Associated Press, and he argued in 2014 that Simpson’s 2007 armed robbery trial — for which he is currently serving time after being convicted of 12 charges — was unfair.

Fumo’s letter advocated for Simpson’s release based on his behavior and priorities while in prison.

“He’s looking forward to the future,” the letter reads.

Fumo stated that Simpson wrote a letter to him several months ago, which “basically just says help others, not help me, help the future,” according to KRON 4.

Simpson, according to the letter, wrote to Fumo looking to advocate for educational opportunities for other inmates — especially because most inmates “haven’t had the opportunities he’s had.” Fumo wrote about Simpson’s letter,

‘Help guys that are in here. Put money where it really needs to be, where it can help these guys,’ because he’s experienced it firsthand. He’s a better person than what a lot of people, you know, think he is.

Fumo’s experience as the recently-elected Assemblyman for Nevada’s 21st district makes him particularly suited to Simpson’s supposed advocacy. As part of his 2016 campaign (in which he ran against incumbent Republican Derek Armstrong), he put an emphasis on improving educational opportunities for Nevadans.

Before he won his seat in the State Assembly, Fumo was a well-known criminal defense lawyer for more than two decades.

Fumo joined Simpson’s legal team in May 2012, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. He was part of a 2014 effort to win Simpson early release by claiming that the worldwide coverage of his 1995 murder trial (for which he was acquitted) colored the jurors’ ability to fairly deliberate.

If the four commissioners hearing Simpson’s plea grant him parole, he could be released as early as this October.

As reported by Lisa Dunn in the Elite Daily

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