The Root; Published By: Kalyn Womack
Crosley Green, now 65, spent 32 years in prison claiming he was wrongfully convicted in the murder of a man back in 1989. After winning an appeal and spending two years home, he’s now facing prison time again, according to Florida Today.
Green, a Titusville native, was named as a suspect in the killing of Charles Flynn Jr. The victim’s girlfriend told the police a “Black guy” drove by his pickup truck where they sat and shot at him. Brevard County sheriff’s deputies then got a tip that Green matched the police sketch and a police dog led investigators to his sister’s house. An all-white jury convicted Green to the death penalty but he was resentenced to life in prison in 2009.
So… how did we end up here?
Green appealed his case on the basis of no physical evidence tying him to the crime, four witness recantations and hidden evidence from the prosecutor suggesting the girlfriend was the real suspect, per the report. His sentence was successfully vacated in 2018 by a federal court when it was found his constitutional rights were violated. However, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody appealed, keeping Green behind bars for another three years.
In 2021, U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton released him due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pending his appeal for a new trial from the 11th Circuit and Supreme Court. When their decisions came back is when things got sticky. Read more
