I, along with much of America, watched a good portion of O.J. Simpson’s parole hearing the other day on the news. For those missed it, he basically explained how he had no idea a crime even took place, and how he was the victim of circumstance. I had heard the news report that O.J. was being sentenced to 30 plus years for the incident. I remember thinking the judge was giving him punishment beyond the norm for something else – or what I’ve learned now is known as “silent time.”

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That’s not really the case. The media always reports the maximum sentence someone could face, perhaps to add drama. The amount of time reported is often drastically different than the time the criminal will end up doing after plea deals and the parole board factor in. For example, after all of my articles, the paper reports I could spend up to 35 years in prison depending on parole hearings. Officially that was true when I started writing this article, but is not really the case.

I was originally sentenced to 2-25 years, but due to a clerical error it had been recorded as 3-35 years. It took about a year for me to work through the courts to fix the error. But before that, I had a parole hearing and was “granted parole.” Utah is a little different though. Here you are given an initial parole hearing, usually before you are eligible for parole, and if parole is granted the date is set somewhere in the future. I was given an initial parole hearing six months into my prison incarceration, where it was decided that I would be incarcerated for five years (a “nickel”) from the date of my arrest, and then I would get out on parole.

I remember being scared to death in that hearing. I had been given some advice about how to answer questions. I was told the most important thing for me to know was that I must take accountability and not minimize anything, because that’s a sure way to earn extra time. Nevertheless, I went in there completely unprepared. This was an opportunity to give the board a sense of who I was and present my case, and I didn’t take advantage of it. I don’t think I said more than 10 words beyond “Yes sir,” and “No sir.” You could say I was playing not to lose rather than playing to win, and the hearing officer’s recommendation reflected exactly that. He said he saw no reason to recommend any time above or below my matrix (the guideline of time to be served for a crime).

I thought for sure O.J. had earned himself some extra time when he repeatedly broke the cardinal rule regarding accountability. The “experts” score O.J.’s responses a two out of 10. They had expected contrition, but got a lot of justification instead. In the end, O.J. was granted parole for sometime in October. Perhaps the parole board believed his story, or perhaps his telling of a differing version of events was just not enough to ruin his chances. A parole board’s decision is based on multiple factors, and either way he is getting parole.

I imagine I would be much more prepared for a parole hearing if it would have happened years into my incarceration. With that said, I’m glad it’s over. It could have gone better and I might have had a different result. It also could have gone worse; and however unlikely, because parole dates can be changed or rescinded, I theoretically could spend up to 25 years in prison.

Brian Wood, formerly of Layton, is an inmate at the Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison. He pleaded guilty to nine felony charges for offenses from 2011 to 2014, including counts of burglary, drug possession and prescription fraud. He could spend up to 25 years in prison, depending on parole hearings.