BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Central Florida man who was set free after spending more than 30 years behind bars for a crime he says he didn’t commit could be headed back to jail.
64-year-old Crosley Green was convicted of murder by an all-white jury in Brevard County for the 1989 shooting death of Charles “Chip” Flynn in a Mims Orange Grove.
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Green was released from prison last year after his conviction was overturned when it was discovered prosecutors withheld evidence in the case.
The state of Florida filed an appeal to that decision Monday that could send him back to prison by the end of next month.
Standing at the pulpit of the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Titusville Wednesday, Green prayed for justice, the same prayer he’s made for more than 30 years.
Crosley Green Press ConferenceCrosley Green Press Conference at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Titusville, Fla.
Posted by Justice for Crosley Green on Wednesday, April 27, 2022
“A wrong has been done to me,” Green said. “I want people to know that I’m an innocent man.”
Now, Green’s fate is in the hands of an 11-judge panel in the in the federal court of appeals
“One of the reasons he went to prison in the first place is that the prosecution did not follow the rules,” Green’s attorney Keith Harrison said. “You are not any safer with an innocent man in prison.”
Green and his family gathered to plead their case one last time Wednesday, praying for a just resolution.
Green’s attorneys are expecting a decision on the state’s appeal by mid-May. They’re requesting a new hearing of the case before the entire 11 judge panel meets.
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If they’re not successful, Green could soon find himself back inside of a Florida prison.
“What happened to me can happen to anyone,” Green said. “I just want them to know and understand that.”
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