Crosley Green maintains his innocence: Prayer vigil planned ahead of parole hearing
Former death row inmate Crosley Green seeks parole after decades in prison
Former Florida death row inmate Crosley Green is seeking parole after spending 35 years in prison for a 1989 murder conviction that he has long maintained was wrongful.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - A Florida man sentenced to death for a 1989 murder in Titusville is fighting for his freedom ahead of a parole hearing next month.
Crosley Green has been behind bars for 35 years in total, 19 of them on Death Row, waiting to be executed for a crime he says he didn’t commit.
Now, instead of the State signing his death warrant, they could sign his release paperwork.
Crosley Green, who has spent over 35 years behind bars for a 1989 Titusville murder he maintains he did not commit, faces a critical parole hearing on August 12.
Witnesses recanted testimony
The backstory:
Since 1989, Crosley Green has said he is not guilty of the 1989 kidnapping and killing of 22-year-old Charles "Chip" Flynn Jr. in Titusville. At first, he was sentenced to death, and spent 19 years awaiting that fate before being sent instead to serve out life in a regular prison. Now, he could find himself eligible for parole.
Crosley Green tasted freedom for nearly two years, from 2021 to 2023. A federal judge overturned his conviction after seeing a number of holes in his case, FOX 35's Marie Edinger reported.
Those holes included evidence kept out of the initial trial, witnesses who recanted their testimony, sworn affidavits explaining an alibi, and contradictory physical evidence.
That was until his release was reversed on appeal. That’s why he’s fighting for parole now.
Upcoming prayer vigil
What we know:
A prayer vigil is being hosted ahead of Green's August 12 parole hearing.
The vigil is taking place on July 30 at 5 p.m. at the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Titusville.
Several speakers are scheduled to present at the vigil, including:
- Faith leaders from throughout Brevard County
- Erin Moriarty, CBS News 48 Correspondent
- John Torres, columnist for Florida Today
- Crosley Green’s sister Shirley White
- Friends of Crosley
- Counsel for Crosley Green Keith Harrison
Green’s attorneys are also encouraging members of the public to send Green letters of support to freedom@justiceforgreen.com.
Crosley Green, who has spent over 35 years behind bars for a 1989 Titusville murder he maintains he did not commit, faces a critical parole hearing on August 12.
What happens if parole is denied?
At Green's parole hearing, Green and his attorneys will have about ten minutes to present to the parole board, arguing why they believe he should be eligible for parole.
They believe his two years of freedom serve as an example of how he would be as a parolee. "He was in the community, he went to church every day, he was fully employed," said Green’s attorney, Keith Harrison, a partner with Crowell & Moring. "He'll be a model citizen and a member of the community."
If parole is denied, Green’s release date is scheduled for 2054, when he will be 97 years old.
State of Florida death penalty executions
The State of Florida has executed 137 people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1979.
In that same time frame, 30 people on Death Row have been released after proving their innocence. The most of any state in the nation.
That’s about a one to four ratio of executions to exonerations. And that doesn’t include people granted clemency, or people removed from death row, like Green.
The Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center believes there could be people on Death Row right now who are innocent of their crimes.
"Very few reforms have been enacted to deal with the kind of systemic errors that have resulted in those terrible mistakes."
The Source: Information in this story was gathered by FOX 35's Marie Edinger.