Ariel Castro spent his time in court today blaming his victims, his former wife and others, stating he was never abusive till he met his ex-wife. He claimed he was a sex addict, that most of the sex was consensual, and that the women he held captive for over a decade were never tortured and lived a happy life with him.

“We had a lot of harmony that went on in that home,” he said.

In Castro’s twisted mind, he never committed a violent crime. “These people are trying to paint me as a monster. I’m not a monster. I’m sick.”

“I’m sick,” is the only true statement Castro made all afternoon.

Which brings me to the other “monster” that was back in the news this week. Like Ariel Castro, O.J. Simpson has not taken responsibility for his crimes––and never will.

After five years behind bars, the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners approved O.J. Simpson’s parole request on five concurrent sentences imposed in 2008 following his conviction for kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel room.

Simpson should have been in prison for the rest of his life for brutally murdering his wife, Nicole, and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994, long before he was arrested for armed robbery. Instead, he spent eight years playing golf and proclaiming his innocence.

Thankfully, Simpson faces the possibility of at least four more years — and three more parole hearings — unless Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell throws out his conviction and grants him a new trial.

Unfortunately, Simpson’s current sentence pales in comparison to the sentence of life in prison plus 1,000 years for Castro. But whether he spends the rest of his life in prison or out, O.J. Simpson will, like Ariel Castro, always be remembered as the monster he truly is.