Crosley Green spent Monday morning with his family, saying goodbye, as he prepared to turn himself into authorities per a court order to finish serving his life sentence.
Green’s murder conviction for the 1989 killing of Charles “Chip” Flynn was overturned in 2018 when the Middle District Court of Florida granted his release or a new trial because prosecutor Chris White failed to turn over notes to the defense that would likely have helped Green’s defense.
Green was released from prison in 2021 pending the outcome of the appellate process. Then in 2022 the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Middle District Court’s decision, upholding Green’s conviction.
Green’s lawyers with Washington D.C.-based Crowell & Moring had one more option: take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the nation’s highest court declined to look at it.
With his appeals exhausted, Green was ordered back to prison by April 17.
He remains hopeful of clearing his name and going free.
“There’s still a feeling of joy in my heart,” he said last week. “I may have to go back for a month, six months, whatever, but I will be coming back home. That day is coming. I can’t tell you when but it’s coming.”
Green’s case has garnered national attention and the numerous issues with his trial have caused many to believe in his innocence, including the two responding officers who arrived at the shooting scene in a deserted orange grove and spoke to the victim before he died.
“I just want to go home,” Flynn said in a clear voice according to the first responders.
Those two responding deputies believed Flynn’s ex-girlfriend, Kim Hallock, was responsible. They relayed their observations to White, who neglected to share the notes he took with Green’s trial attorney.
Flynn never asked if Hallock had made it to safety or if the “gunman” had been apprehended. Hallock also refused to leave the sheriff’s vehicle with deputies to see if Flynn was OK.
“When I put on a badge, I took an oath to serve and protect the community and that meant all of the community,” retired Sgt. Diane Clark said last year. She was with the Brevard County Sheriff’s office when she responded to the shooting. “I looked for the truth. In this particular case, the truth is hidden. And to me that’s a travesty of justice. Crosley has spent half of his life in prison for something I don’t believe he did.”
Concerns with Crosley Green’s case
Gunshot residue tests on Flynn’s hands came back negative. Hallock was never tested. She told police that Flynn fired his handgun at a Black assailant and a shootout ensued.
- A prejudicial photo lineup in which Green’s photo was larger and darker than the others.
- A police dog tracked footprints that did not belong to Green.
- Green did not know how to drive a stick-shift as described by Hallock, who old authorities that a Black assailant kidnapped them at gunpoint and then commandeered Flynn’s pickup truck, driving the three of them to a deserted orange grove.
- Three witnesses for the state later recanted their testimony claiming prosecutor White pressured them to testify against Green in exchange for lighter sentences in their own drug cases.
- A phone call was made to Jess Parrish Hospital shortly after Flynn was taken away in the ambulance. The caller threatened to come to the hospital to finish the job.
- The bullet taken from Flynn’s chest during the autopsy was consistent with the type of bullets used in his own gun.
- No other bullets or casings were found.
- There were no footprints at the orange grove nor fingerprints on Chip’s truck that belonged to Crosley Green.
Green’s hope now lie with Gov. DeSantis or the parole commission. He has already spent more than 30 years in prison, including 19 on death row before his sentence was changed to life in prison.
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Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on Twitter @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at facebook.com/FTjohntorres.
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