How Nicole Brown Simpson’s Sister Feels About O.J.’s Early Prison Release

Now that O.J. Simpson is out of prison, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson says the fact that he’s a free man doesn’t bother her.

“I don’t care,” Tanya Brown, 46, tells PEOPLE. “It doesn’t make any difference to me. It is what it is.”

Famously acquitted of murder in 1995 in the violent deaths of Nicole and Ron Goldman, Simpson, 70, was released from a Nevada prison just after midnight Sunday after serving nine years for an unrelated 2007 kidnapping and armed robbery in Las Vegas.

For her own peace of mind, she says she feels she has no other choice but to accept his release.

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She also hopes her former brother-in-law stays out of trouble.

“If he chooses to try to live life as a decent human being in the world, then hey — go for it,” she says. “If he wants to try to get his life together, fine. If he chooses to go the other way, fine. I just don’t care.”

But, she adds, “The minute he messes up, he should be treated just like everybody else. If you speed, you’re going to get a ticket. If you break the law, you are going to get in trouble. I don’t think he should be treated any different.”

The former NFL star left prison in middle of the night on a weekend to avoid creating a media circus, according to Brooke Keast, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

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Simpson will remain on parole until Sept. 29, 2022. The father of four will have to adhere to the conditions set by the Nevada parole board, which include being banned from consuming alcohol in large quantities and socializing with ex-convicts.

‘I’ve Done My Time’

During Simpson’s highly publicized parole hearing on July 20, four Nevada parole board commissioners unanimously voted for his early release, citing the support he had from his family and his disciplinary-free record while in prison, where he also took anti-violence classes.

“I’ve done my time,” Simpson said at his parole hearing. “I’ve done it as well and as respectfully as anybody can.”

While Simpson served his sentence, Brown quietly lived her life, working as a community liaison for a hospice care company and serving as a life coach and speaker.

She also wrote two books: Finding Peace Amid the Chaos, in 2014, which details the pain she experienced after her sister’s killing and the sensationalized trial that followed; and, in 2015, The Seven Characters of Abuse.

But when she saw the hearing on TV and heard Simpson tell the board that he had “basically lived a conflict-free life,” she got upset.

“I thought, ‘Really?” Brown said in an earlier interview with PEOPLE. “Let me play that 911 tape from Nicole for you.’ ”

During Simpson’s murder trial, details surfaced of his explosive temper as tapes of Nicole’s gut-wrenching 911 calls became public.

Though Simpson denied assaulting Nicole, he pleaded no contest in 1989 to a charge of spousal abuse stemming from an altercation on Jan. 1, 1989, that sent Nicole to the hospital.

“He beat my sister,” Brown says. “That has been well documented.”

Still Facing A Civil Judgment

Goldman’s sister, Kim, and his father, Ron, are upset that Simpson has been released from prison.

In a statement previously issued to PEOPLE, they say that “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.

“We will continue pursuing the now $60 million judgment awarded to our family after the 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,” the continued. “We appreciate the ongoing support and well wishes from people all around the world and on behalf of our family, we thank you.”

Simpson’s friends tell PEOPLE he plans to move to Florida after he is released, where Justin and Sydney, his two adult children with Nicole, also live.

Brown has no plans to see her former brother-in-law. But, she says, “Good luck to him.”