Florida Commission Denies Parole for Crosley Green

Innocent man ordered to remain in prison 31 more years

ORLANDO, Fla., June 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Commission on Offender Review has denied parole to Crosley Green, ruling that his tentative parole release date will be in 2054, when he will be 97 years old. The 65-year-old grandfather has already served 32 years in prison, including 19 years on death row, for a Brevard County murder that he did not commit.

At an administrative hearing in Tallahassee, Fla., Crowell & Moring counsel for Mr. Green argued that he is an ideal candidate for parole and should be eligible for immediate release. They pointed to Mr. Green's compelling case of actual innocence and his longstanding record of model behavior as a prisoner for more than three decades and while living on conditional release in Titusville, Fla., for the past two years as his case was pending appeal after a federal district court found that Mr. Green was wrongfully convicted.

During Mr. Green's release under the oversight of the federal probation office, he was a model citizen, a devoted family man, and a skilled machinist who won praises from his employer. Mr. Green got engaged, spent time with his large, extended family, and was an active member of his church. Mr. Green was ordered to return to prison in April after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

Mr. Green's counsel argued that his presumptive parole release date (PPRD), previously set for June 2059, was miscalculated. If the commission had properly calculated the PPRD for Mr. Green per the commission's own rules and precedent, his tentative parole release date would be no later than June 2023. Attorneys for Mr. Green also argued that a Florida regulation requires that the PPRD must be vacated when an inmate leaves the Florida correctional system and then reset if an inmate is subsequently reincarcerated. Mr. Green exited Florida custody in April 2021 when he was released to federal supervision and was reincarcerated in the Florida correctional system in April 2023. The commission voted to "take no action" on this issue.

Notwithstanding counsel's arguments that Mr. Green is the ideal candidate for parole, given his record of extraordinarily successful community integration over the past two years, the commission declined counsel's request to find that Mr. Green is immediately eligible for parole. It reduced Mr. Green's PPRD by five years, from 2059 to 2054, due to his positive conduct while on conditional release. In 2054, Mr. Green will be 97 years old. The commission will review Mr. Green's case again in March 2026.

"This is a heartbreaking ruling for Crosley Green's family and his fiancée. We will continue to fight for Crosley's freedom and to reverse the injustice of continuing to imprison this innocent man. We will keep fighting until Crosley walks out of prison a free man. We hope the commission will continue to consider the highly unique circumstances of Crosley's case and the reasons he is an ideal candidate for parole. Crosley should be freed," said Keith Harrison, a partner at Crowell & Moring who has led the fight for Mr. Green's freedom for the past 15 years.

About the Case

Mr. Green has steadfastly fought for more than three decades to prove his innocence following his wrongful conviction by an all-white jury for the 1989 murder of Charles "Chip" Jr. in Titusville, Fla. Crowell & Moring has worked on Mr. Green's case pro bono since 2008 on referral from the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project.

Crowell secured Mr. Green's release from death row in 2009. In 2018, Crowell secured a critical victory in the case when a federal district court in Orlando, Fla., granted Mr. Green's petition for habeas corpus and ordered that he be released or provided a new trial. The court found that Mr. Green had been wrongfully convicted and his constitutional rights were violated when Brevard County, Fla., prosecutors withheld witness interview notes that stated the first two responding law enforcement officers told the prosecutor that they concluded the victim's ex-girlfriend—not Mr. Green—committed the crime.

No physical evidence ties Mr. Green to the crime, and four of the prosecution's witnesses have recanted their trial testimony, alleging the prosecution coerced their false testimony.

U.S. District Court Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. held that the information that the first officers at the scene evaluated the evidence as implicating another as a suspect "went to the heart of the defense strategy. It is difficult to conceive of information more material to the defense and the development of defense strategy than the fact that the initial responding officers evaluated the totality of the evidence as suggesting that the investigation should be directed toward someone other than [Green]."

In April 2021, Mr. Green was released from prison on conditional release (house arrest) while his case was pending appeal. While living in Titusville, Fla. during the past two years, Mr. Green has held full-time employment, become part of a church community, and spent time with family—including meeting grandkids for the first time. The state of Florida appealed the decision, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Mr. Green's victory. The Supreme Court declined to take up Mr. Green's case on February 27, 2023. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District for Florida ordered Mr. Green to return to custody of the Florida Department of Corrections to complete his sentence.

On April 17, 2023, Mr. Green surrendered himself to the Florida Department of Corrections.

For more information about the case, visit the Crosley Green information page.

Crowell & Moring's team includes partners Keith J. Harrison, Jeane A. Thomas, Vincent J. Galluzzo, and counsel Drake Morgan.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and corporate and transactional issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service as well as its programs and initiatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

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SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP