"I am sorry things turned out the way they did." O.J. Simpson has been granted parole.

In a unanimous vote, a Nevada parole board has granted O.J. Simpson parole following his conviction of a 2007 Las Vegas robbery.

Simpson could walk free as early as October 1 – almost nine years into a 33-year prison sentence.

Simpson has been serving time in a Nevada prison for the armed robbery, in which Simpson and several accomplices broke into a Las Vegas hotel room to steal pieces of memorabilia from two men.

He ordered that no one leave the room during the robbery, and one of his accomplices brandished a gun. Simpson has denied having any knowledge of the group having a weapon.

But the robbery is not what Simpson is notorious for.

The now 70-year-old rose to fame in the 1970s, when he played professional NFL for the Buffalo Bills and then the San Francisco 49ers, of Simpson's hometown. He was a record-breaking footballer, known for his extreme speed. Commentators nick-named him 'The Juice'.

Simpson retired from football in 1979 and remained happily in the public eye - taking on acting and sports commentary jobs - until he was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her visitor Ron Goldman in 1994.

The pair were found stabbed to death - Nicole was nearly decapitated - in the entranceway to Nicole's home.

With a warrant out for his arrest, Simpson failed to turn himself and it lead to a widely-televised low-speed car pursuit. The whole world was watching Simpson travelling in the back of a white Ford Bronco SUV, threatening to kill himself, as police chased him down the Los Angeles highway.

The ensuing trial was dubbed the "trial of the century". Simpson pleaded not guilty and claimed police had framed him by planting evidence. It was a narrative that fed into the fears and injustices of the time - when police brutality and unfairness toward African Americans was at a near all-time high.

In 1995, Simpson was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman and was a free man until 2008, when he was taken into custody for the Las Vegas armed robbery he'd participated in the September before.

On October 3, 2008, 13 years to the day after he was cleared of the murder charges, Simpson was convicted on 12 counts of armed robbery and sentenced to a minimum of nine and a maximum of 33 years in prison.

Now, he's due to be out within months, telling the court today: "I am sorry things turned out the way they did. I had no intention to cause a crime. I just want to get back to my family and friends."

- With AAP