The man who set race relations back another 30 years, O.J. "The Juice" Simpson may be released from prison this year after sitting 10 years behind bars for armed robbery and kidnapping. 

For those too young to remember, the former NFL star O.J. morphed from famous to notorious in the 1990's when a majority-black jury acquitted him of murdering his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. Though he largely rejected the black community – "I'm not black, I'm O.J." he's quoted as saying – Simpson's lawyers under the leadership of Johnny Cochran played the race card, accusing the racist LAPD of framing him.

As justice would have it, Simpson would eventually do himself in a little over 10 years after his acquittal when he and several cohorts held a man at gunpoint attempting to steal back several pieces of sports memorabilia he had sold off. 

Time certainly flies, because this year could be the year that O.J. Simpson walks the streets free again. 

According to USA Today,  "Simpson, now 70, is scheduled for a parole hearing in July, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. The date for that hearing will be set in mid-June by the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners."

In a parole hearing in 2013, Simpson said he regretted his actions and pleaded mercy.  

“I just wish I never went to that room,” he said then.

NDOC spokeswoman Brooke Keast said they are preparing for possible protests.  

“We will definitely have more staff working, and we’ll have help from local law enforcement,” Keast said. “We’ve already discussed things with the sheriff in Pershing County and (Carson City) Sheriff Ken Furlong.”

“For his safety, we can’t open the doors to the public, so we’re doing a live streaming,” she continued. “Whatever the decision the board makes, there’s going to be somebody who isn’t going to like it.”

Should Simpson be paroled, he won't be released until October.