Crosley Green returns to prison, maintains innocence after murder conviction reinstated

Amna Nawaz:

After more than three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit, a man who was released on house arrest during the pandemic is now going back to prison.

But, as William Brangham reports, many questions remain about whether Florida is locking up an innocent man for the rest of his life.

It's part of our ongoing series, Searching for Justice.

William Brangham:

Today was supposed to be a day of celebration for 65-year-old Crosley Green, a chance for this grandfather to be with his family and celebrate his continued freedom.

Crosley Green, Returning to Prison: You going to walk out here and ain't going to come see me?

William Brangham:

After 32 years behind bars, Green was freed in 2021, awaiting appeal of a murder conviction he says he's not guilty of.

So, for two years, he's been living in Titusville, Florida, under house arrest.

Crosley Green:

This my first day out in the afternoon like this away from home, OK, out to a park anywhere, really.

William Brangham:

So did you have to get permission to do this?

Crosley Green:

Yes. Yes, I had to get permission to do this.

William Brangham:

Wow.

Crosley Green:

So, it mean a lot to get away from the house in an afternoon like this and just enjoy myself.

You say I can't throw? Watch this.

William Brangham:

But on his way here, he got terrible news. He's being sent back to prison to serve the rest of his life sentence. So, Green put on a brave face, but decided to wait to tell his family.

Crosley Green:

I want to enjoy my day out here with the kids. And I want the kids to enjoy their day. I want to enjoy my family. And I want them to enjoy me.

John Torres, Florida Today:

The Crosley Green case, in my opinion, is just a racial hoax. It's a case of just pure injustice.

William Brangham:

Reporter John Torres of Florida Today has covered Crosley Green's case since 2009. And he hosts a podcast about it.

John Torres:

Somebody was killed, and a Black man was blamed.

William Brangham:

In 1989, a man named Chip Flynn was shot in an old orange grove in Mims, Florida. The woman Flynn was with that night, his ex-girlfriend, Kim Hallock, told police an unknown Black man shot him.

Diane Clarke, Fmr. Sgt., Brevard County, Florida, Sheriff’s Officer:

He had been shot. Asked him who he was. Who did this? And all he would say was: "I'm hurt. Take me home."

William Brangham:

Diane Clarke was a patrol sergeant with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office back then. She was first on the scene and talked to Chip Flynn before he died.

So, he never said that: "A Black man shot me or some stranger shocked me"?

Diane Clarke:

No, he never said who shot. And that's what we're trying to get out of him was, who did this, so we would have something to go on. And he would — all he would say is: "I'm hurt. Take me home."

William Brangham:

Acting on a tip, police arrested Crosley Green. He lived in the area, and police knew the 31-year-old because he was a small-time drug dealer.

John Torres:

So this is where Kim Hallock and Chip Flynn were parked in a lover's lane area, back over there, I believe.

William Brangham:

At trial, John Torres says three witnesses testified they'd heard Green confessed to the killing, but all later recanted, alleging they'd been coerced.

Despite there being no physical evidence tying Green to the crime, he was convicted of kidnapping, robbery and murder.

John Torres:

A Black man was picked up and put on trial. An all-white jury sent him to Florida's death row. And there's no physical evidence in the case. Every witness has recanted. There is nothing that ties Crosley Green to this case at all.

And the one witness who survived the attack, she told police several accounts of what happened that night. And the responding officers who showed up to the scene of the crime, of the murder, they all believed it was her.

Diane Clarke:

There's no way he shot him. It's just — he didn't do it. And I will say that to my last breath. And it kind of will probably haunt me until the day I die.

William Brangham:

Clarke and her fellow officer told prosecutor Chris White he ought to consider Kim Hallock the likelier suspect.

While the "NewsHour"'s attempts to reach Kim Hallock were unsuccessful, she told The Washington Post in an interview published today — quote — 'I testified to the truth. Green needs to go back to where he belongs."

You have all of these reservations about the story that this woman Kim Hallock is saying about an unknown Black assailant. Did you share those with the with the prosecutor?

Diane Clarke:

Yes. I said then I don't — I personally don't believe that this is any Black man. You need to look at Kim Hallock. I feel she's involved in this.

And it's in his notes, but it didn't matter, I guess.

William Brangham:

Green's lawyers say prosecutors initially offered him a plea deal: Admit your guilt, and you would have a lesser sentence.

Green refused.

Crosley Green:

No, I will never take a plea deal on something I didn't commit or do. I wouldn't care if they — if they had offered me five years, three years, I wouldn't have took that plea, because I didn't do that crime.

William Brangham:

So, for nearly 20 years, Crosley Green was on death Roe in Florida. But then, in 2009, lawyers at this law firm in Washington got his death sentence change to life in prison.

And, what's more, lawyers here say they made a key discovery.

Jeane Thomas of Crowell & Moring says prosecutor Chris White never shared with Green's defense team the notes he took about his meeting with Diane Clarke and the other officer.

Jeane Thomas, Attorney for Crosley Green: He writes in his notes: "Diane and Mark think the girl did it."

William Brangham:

That succinctly?

Jeane Thomas:

That succinctly.

Now, if we had been able to put those two white first responding officers on the stand in his trial and use the information that was developed from these notes in this trial, again, before an all-white jury, we believe that it would likely have changed the outcome of the trial.

William Brangham:

In 2018, a federal court agreed, ruling that that omission was what's known as a Brady violation, withholding material that could have helped Green's case.

It ordered that he be released or retried. The state of Florida appealed. Prosecutor Chris White, now retired, told the "NewsHour" he has no doubt that Crosley Green is guilty and that a judge and jury agreed. About those written notes that he didn't turn over, he wrote — quote — "Officers' opinions as to guilt are inadmissible in evidence. So it never crossed my mind that I had to disclose theirs."

Three years later, during the pandemic, and still waiting on the state's appeal, Green was released on home arrest into the welcoming arms of his family. Over the last two years, he started life again. He got a full-time job, devoted himself even more to his faith, found a loving partner and got engaged. He says he still believes in America's justice system.

Crosley Green:

Of course, I have still faith in the justice system. I have thought a lot of times that God did this for a reason. God spared my life. I'm still here. You notice that?

He got something planned for me, because I'm not sad. I'm not angry. And I know hate no one. That's all in the past with me. I'm just looking forward.

William Brangham:

But, last year, the 11th Circuit Court ruled in favor of Florida, reinstating Crosley Green's life sentence. When the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, his legal options had run out.

Crosley Green:

My lawyer called me today as soon as I got off work.

William Brangham:

And now he has to tell his family the latest, that he has been ordered back to prison.

Crosley Green:

The judge — the judge made a decision that I got to surrender myself.

But I want you all to know I'm OK. I'm OK. But I need you all to hold me up. Keep standing up. Keep holding me up.

William Brangham:

His family says they're still struggling to understand how this is happening.

Shirley White, Sister of Crosley Green: There is no evidence, but yet still you're — you are fitting to send him back to prison again.

What is the purpose of tearing our hearts open all over again?

O'Connor Green, Brother of Crosley Green: I really don't understand the system. I really don't. They done fail us and failed us and failed us so many times. It's just like, what's next?

William Brangham:

Green's lawyers say his only hope now would be parole or a grant of clemency from Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis.

Crosley Green:

So, I'm taking it every moment I can take to feel and love and do the things I want to do.

And I'm praying that the good lord will just bless me again, give freedom again, which I think I'm truly going to get.

William Brangham:

You do?

Crosley Green:

You know? I really, truly think I'm going to get my freedom. I can't say when. But I'm going to get it.

William Brangham:

This afternoon, Crosley Green surrendered himself to police in Orlando, Florida, and he will soon be returned to prison.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.