OJ Simpson released from prison after serving 9 years for Vegas robbery

LAS VEGAS -- O.J. Simpson is a free man.

After spending nine years in prison for a Las Vegas robbery, the former NFL star walked out of the Lovelock Correctional Institute at 12:08 a.m. local time on Sunday, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Simpson, 70, who served his time at the facility in Nevada, was granted parole at a hearing in July. The earliest date he was eligible for release was Oct. 1.

The Department of Corrections released a short video of Simpson exiting the prison, as well as a photo of him signing release papers.

Simpson was sentenced to prison following an arrest in 2007 during a botched robbery in Las Vegas, when he led a group of men into a hotel and casino to steal sports memorabilia at gunpoint. The former Buffalo Bills star contended the memorabilia and other personal items belonged to him.

At his parole hearing in July, Simpson said, "All I want is my property. ... I wasn't there to steal from anybody."

Simpson reassured the board he would be successful meeting the conditions of his parole before it was granted, saying, "I'm not a guy who lived a criminal life."

Simpson's attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, told ABC News on Friday that upon his release, Simpson wants to go to Florida, where he can "see his family and hug his family on the outside of prison."

"He wants to eat seafood, he wants to eat steak," LaVergne said. "He wants to enjoy the very simple pleasures that he hasn't enjoyed in nine years."

Tom Scotto, one of Simpson's longtime friends, told ABC News, "All he wants to do is spend time with his family and friends and his kids. And play a little golf."

But Scotto added that Simpson won't be shying away from the public eye.

"We're not gonna hide," Scotto said. "He's gonna do the same things he always did."

Over 20 years ago, Simpson went on trial for the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. On Oct. 3, 1995, at the end of a televised trial that captivated the nation, Simpson was acquitted of all criminal charges.

Simpson was found liable for the killings in a 1997 civil trial. He has always maintained his innocence.

Ron Goldman's father and sister, Fred and Kim Goldman, said in a statement last week that they will continue pursuing the judgment awarded to them in the civil trial -- an amount they say has climbed to $60 million.

"While we respect the Nevada Parole Board's decision to release Simpson, it's still difficult for us knowing he will be a free man again," the Goldmans said. "We will continue pursuing the now $60 million judgment awarded to our family after the [civil trial] jury found that Simpson willfully and wrongfully caused the deaths of Ron and Nicole, as well as remain dedicated in our commitment to domestic violence awareness, victim advocacy and judicial reform."

After the parole hearing, Fred Goldman said on "Good Morning America," "It was never about the money [in the civil case.] It was punishment, and we didn't have the opportunity to see him go to jail or death row for murder, but he got a judgment against him and honoring that judgment or making him honor the judgment is the only punishment that we can get from him."

Kim Goldman said on "GMA," when Simpson is released, "We're going to go back to doing what we've done. I run a nonprofit working with teenagers, I do stories on other victims and survivors, I'm raising my kids. We're active in the world of victims and survivors' advocacy. We're going to continue doing those things and take it one day at a time and if he chooses to write a book, or do a reality show, we'll be there."

ABC News' Duan Perrin and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.