By Eric Levenson and Susannah Cullinane

CNN

(CNN) -- (Breaking news update posted at 1:32 p.m. ET)

O.J. Simpson went gave a lengthy explanation of his 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping, deflecting blame and saying that his associates should have served time in prison for bringing a weapon.

"Unfortunately, they got a get-out-of-jail-free card when they said 'O.J. told me (to do it),'" Simpson said. "Nothing I can do about that."

Simpson also said he has taken two "Alternative to Violence" classes, which he said was "the most important course any person in this prison can take."

(Breaking news update posted at 1:25 p.m. ET)

O.J. Simpson qualifies for a number of mitigating factors that would support his early parole and has been discipline free during imprisonment, parole board Chairman Connie Bisbee said Thursday.

Among the mitigating factors, she said, was that Simpson appears to have a stable post-release plan. An aggravating factor, she said, was that at the time of his offense, his victims said they were in fear for their safety.

Bisbee then opened the floor for panelists' questions. Panel member Tony Corda asked Simpson about the crime: "What were you thinking?"

(Breaking news update posted at 1:13 p.m. ET)

O.J. Simpson's parole hearing has begun as the former football star asks to be released from prison. Simpson has served nine years of a nine-to-33-year sentence for an armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas in 2007.

Simpson appeared alert, engaged, and quick to smile, letting out a hearty laugh when Parole Board Chairman Connie Bisbee accidentally said he was aged 90. "I feel like it," he said, laughing.

(Original story posted at 12:14 p.m. ET)

O.J. Simpson is scheduled to appear Thursday before a parole board in Nevada in a hearing that will decide whether one of America's most notorious prisoners will be released.

"Juice," as he was known in his football heyday, is nine years into a nine-to-33-year sentence after his conviction in a 2007 kidnapping and armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel.

But Simpson is best known for his infamous 1995 acquittal in the grisly slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in what was called the "trial of the century."

Here's what to expect at the parole hearing, which begins at 1 p.m. ET:

• Simpson will speak and answer questions from parole board members via video conference for the first 30 to 45 minutes. • He must get a majority of votes from the six parole board commissioners to receive parole. • If paroled, he could be released as early as October, said David Smith, a spokesman for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners.

Now 70, the former NFL great and movie star has been described by authorities as a model prisoner at Lovelock Correctional Center, a medium-security prison in the Nevada desert.

"Simpson has stayed out of trouble there," said Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections. "We haven't heard much from him."

Thursday's parole hearing follows renewed interest in Simpson's story, which was explored last year in the award-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America" and the FX true-crime drama "The People v. O.J. Simpson."

Though it's been 22 years since that not guilty verdict, the murder trial's themes of criminal justice and race, trust in police, celebrity and domestic violence remain remarkably resonant in modern culture.

"We talk about O.J. as though the story is O.J.," journalist Celia Farber says toward the end of the "Made in America" documentary. "The story is O.J. and us."

On Thursday, Simpson's attorney Malcolm LaVergne, his daughter Arnelle Simpson, his sister Shirley Baker and his longtime friend Tom Scotto arrived at Lovelock Correctional Center.

The robbery

Simpson and an associate were convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to steal pieces of Simpson sports memorabilia at gunpoint.

At his 2008 sentencing, the Hall of Fame running back said he went to the room in the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to reclaim family heirlooms and other personal items that had been taken from him. He also claimed he didn't know his associates were armed.

"I wasn't there to hurt anybody," Simpson said. "I just wanted my personal things, and I realize now that was stupid of me. I am sorry."

The case, which featured a colorful cast of seedy characters, secret recordings and a Las Vegas heist, read like a low-budget parody of "Ocean's Eleven," CNN wrote at the time.

Simpson's legal team argued that the nine-to-33-year sentence did not match the crime and that it was, in fact, a form of payback for his controversial acquittal in the deaths of Brown and Goldman. Even Bruce Fromong, a victim in the robbery, agreed.

"It wasn't about justice," Fromong said in "O.J.: Made in America." "They wanted the guy that got away with murder in 1994."

Simpson has always denied he killed Brown and Goldman. Their families won a wrongful death civil judgment against him in 1997.

At a parole hearing in 2013, Simpson said he regretted the Las Vegas kidnapping and robbery.

"I just wish I had never gone to that room. I wish I had just said, 'Keep it,' and not worry about it," he said. "All I can do about it since I've been here is be as respectful and as straightforward as I could be."

How the parole hearing works

Simpson's minimum sentence was nine years, so this year marks the first time he could be released on parole. In the 2013 hearing, he was granted parole on five of the 12 counts against him. At Thursday's hearing, he will have to make parole on the other seven counts to be released.

He will speak from prison via video conference with four parole board commissioners who are in Carson City. Those members will then leave to deliberate.

If the four parole board members do not unanimously agree, then two other commissioners from Las Vegas will be called to vote. Simpson needs a simple majority vote to be granted parole. If the vote splits 3-3, parole will be denied, and another hearing will be held in six months.

The parole board scores an inmate on several factors -- the higher the total score, the greater the risk involved in releasing him or her. A person with a score of zero to five points is deemed low risk; six to 11 points, medium risk; and 12 or more, high risk. In 2013, Simpson scored three points overall.

Should Simpson again be judged a low risk, the board still has the latitude to deny him parole. Should that happen, he would go before the parole board again before 2020, board spokesman Smith said.

Robbery victim Fromong has said he plans to testify at the parole hearing to advocate for Simpson's release. "I'm not doing it because he's my friend, which he is. I am doing (it) because (it's) the right thing to do," Fromong told CNN.

CNN's Paul Vercammen, Paul LeBlanc and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.