Miami Attorney Breaks Down OJ Simpson's Parole Hearing: 'He Accepted Responsibility'

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – O.J. Simpson had a lot riding on his hearing before the Nevada Parole Board.

"Now he's blaming somebody else," said attorney David Weinstein.

CBS4's Ted Scouten watched the hearing with the well-respected Miami attorney.

Weinstein said Simpson did not appear remorseful at the beginning.

"He shouldn't have been talking this long. He should have… short and sweet: 'A bad mistake, bad judgement on my part, I regret getting involved with these people, nothing like this is ever going to happen again,'" Weinstein explained.

Weinstein said when asking to get out prison early, parole boards expect prisoners to be humble and take responsibility.

"Right out of the box that's not what he did, and in fact there was one outburst when they asked him a question and he got agitated," Weinstein said. "I didn't think that didn't do him any favors, that certainly wasn't gaining him any points."

It wasn't until the very end when Weinstein felt Simpson was able to make his case, convincing the board he's learned his lesson and is ready to be released.

"His demeanor changed. He became very humble and contrite. He accepted responsibility for what had happened. He did not try to make any excuses," Weinstein said.

It worked – the parole board agreed to let him out.

But now comes the hard part.

Weinstein warns parole will be similar to being in prison, just without the bars and guards.

"There's a big hammer that's going to be hanging over his head, bigger than any anvil that hung over Wylie Coyote and the old Road Runner commercials," Weinstein said.

Even though Simpson said he'd like to return to Florida that's not a done deal yet.  It still has to be approved by the state.

"It's a privilege based on meeting certain criteria. Florida when they do their investigation, they'll make the determination of whether or not they're going to be willing to accept his case," said one of the members of the parole board.

The Florida Department of Corrections released a statement on Simpson's request, which read:

"We are aware of his potential relocation to Florida. Pursuant to the Interstate Commission on Adult Offender Supervision, if Nevada's request meets all criteria, Florida must accept the transfer.

"As is the case with any offender who transfers under this routine procedure, he will be assigned a Florida probation officer and will be supervised in accordance with the conditions of his parole."