Crosley Green behind bars again: FOX 35 sits down with convicted murderer, claiming innocence for 1989 crime

Crosley Green continues to fight for freedom

Crosley Green is still fighting for his freedom more than a year after returning to prison for a murder he maintains he did not commit. Green, who spent over three decades behind bars, was released after a court ruled he was wrongfully convicted. However, he was sent back to prison when the state appealed the decision.

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. - Crosley Green is still fighting for his freedom after 35 years. But his list of options in that fight is wearing thin.

In 1989, Green was accused of murdering someone, a man named Chipp Flynn. He was convicted the next year. He spent 19 years on death row, then another dozen or so with his sentence demoted to life behind bars. His conviction was overturned, and he was let out for two years but then sent back again.

The Supreme Court refused to take up his case, meaning he will never be labeled innocent. But he could still get out from behind bars. His lawyers are arguing the parole board miscalculated, and he should be eligible for release right now.

FOX 35’s Marie Edinger interviewed Green one-on-one before he was sent back to prison. She talked with him again, this time from the Sumter County Correctional Institution. Edinger says, that when she asks Crosley Green questions about himself, she’s been stricken by how often he answers by talking about other people.

In a way, it makes sense for him to live vicariously through others – the man who just celebrated his 67th birthday has spent more than half his life behind bars.

"There's a lot of good us out there that need that I can do for others. And I sure would like to," Green told Edinger.

He’ll be the first to tell you, he’s no saint. He sold drugs, he got in fights.

But the stuff he’s accused of?

"No, I’m not a murderer. Never was a murderer," he said. "I wasn’t that type of a vicious person."

Green's attorneys filed a writ of mandamus, saying he should be let out on parole because of a miscalculation by the parole board. They also believe the case is riddled with holes.

For instance, during Green’s initial trial, there were three witnesses – including Green’s sister – who testified against him.

According to court documents filed since then, all three were later recanted.

An eyewitness who testified against Green, Kim Hallock, told police that a Black man had kidnapped her and her ex-boyfriend, Chipp Flynn, tied Flynn’s hands and drove them to an orange grove near Cocoa Beach. Hallock told police Flynn fired his weapon at Green with his hands still tied behind his back, and that Green shot back, hitting Flynn in the chest and killing him while Hallock escaped.

Green’s Defense attorneys say investigators tested Flynn’s hands with gunpowder to corroborate that story but found none.

"I really don't think I'm getting judged fairly by the courts," Green said. "And that's wrong… I deserve to be out with my family."

Green told Edinger he doesn’t like thinking about his first few years on death row. He was angry back then.

"The anger came from, ‘I shouldn't be here.’ And the way they did it, it was really cruel," said Green. "It was so cruel to a point that I had hatred. I had hatred at that time."

These days, Green is much more patient, much calmer, and much more positive. He told FOX 35 he’s a good person.

He did get a two-year taste of what things could be like as a free man, spending time at home with his family and friends, only to be caged once again for a crime he’s said since 1989 he didn’t commit.

"Nothing can hurt me now because I got a chance to see them. I got to be with them. And one day I'll get to be with them again," Green said. "I can’t tell you when. But the good Lord gives me breath, year after year. I’ll see them again."

The Commission on Offender Review read his attorney’s arguments about the case. They wrote back, saying they would move up his parole eligibility by 15 years. Now, he can leave in 2059, when he’s 93 years old.

"I'm free, on the inside," Green said. "I'm truly free because I did get a chance to go home, be free. And I felt that."

A new podcast by reporter Erin Moriarty reviews Green’s case in an 8-part series still being released, called "Murder in the Orange Grove: The Troubled Case Against Crosley Green."

Moriarty talked with FOX 35’s Marie Edinger about her podcast, which is the result of 25 years of reporting on this case.

"There seems to be so much more interest in preserving a conviction than finding out what really happened," Moriarty told Edinger.

Moriarty says the podcast will include never-before-seen interviews and never-before-revealed details that she’s gathered from over two decades of work on this story. She says this is the case that troubles her the most of any she’s ever worked on.

"It is an incredibly complex but important story about the legal system and how somebody can get caught behind bars and not be able to get out," said Moriarty. "It's really eye-opning, and it's not what any of us would call justice."

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