For the first time, Crosley Green and his Crowell & Moring pro bono legal team will outline their plans to keep Green free as they ask the full 11-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a recent three-judge panel decision that holds Green’s freedom in the balance. The impact of their decision could re-affirm that prosecutors should not hide evidence directly pointing to a defendant’s innocence and therefore impact how prosecutors handle evidence of all crimes in the future. The court will decide whether to grant reconsideration in the coming weeks. Join the press conference in Titusville, Fla. or via live stream on Facebook live (details below).
In March, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Green, reversing a 2018 landmark habeas victory that overturned his conviction because prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence that the first-responding officers concluded another individual was the murderer.
Green now faces the possibility of having his freedom snatched away and being thrown back in prison for a murder he did not commit. Green served nearly 32 years in prison, including 19 years on Florida’s death row, while steadfastly maintaining his innocence. He was released in April 2021 on house arrest while his case is pending appeal. Lawyers for Green filed a petition to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing on April 21. Crowell & Moring has represented Green pro bono since 2008 on referral from the ABA Death Penalty Project.
Green’s attorneys will address:
- The significant implications of the panel’s decision, which allows prosecutors to conceal critical evidence from defense counsel.
- What’s next in Green’s long fight for justice as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals considers whether the full 11-judge court will rehear the case, and what happens if they do not.
- A look at the trail of exonerations and other Brevard County cases from the late 1980s and 1990s that demonstrate a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct.
Green will be joined by members of his family. Green will address:
- How he is handling the possibility of returning to prison.
- What it has meant to live outside prison for the past year as he has reconciled with his family, kept a job, and met grandchildren for the first time.
- Green and his family will answer questions.
Also speaking will be Diane Clarke, who was a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Sergeant and one of the two first-responding officers on the crime scene. The court opinion putting Green’s freedom in jeopardy turns on whether information Clarke had that was not disclosed by the state would have been helpful to the defense. Clarke will address what she observed and why she told prosecutors that another person was the likely murderer.
Quotes for attribution:
- “If prosecutors are allowed to conceal and hide evidence pointing to innocence from defense counsel, it could impact every criminal defendant going forward throughout the 11th Circuit—Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,” said Crowell & Moring partner Keith J. Harrison, pro bono counsel to Green.
- “Prosecutors pushed me to plead guilty. But I refused because I was innocent, and I believed that the truth would come out in the justice system. Now, it is my faith in God and the love of my family that keeps me going. Everyone should be afraid of what happened to me because it could happen to anyone,” said Green.
Members of the media, please RSVP via prteam@crowell.com. Exclusive interviews with Green and other speakers will be provided before and after the press conference as requested prior to the conference. Please advise special requests in advance.
Press conference (in-person):
2:00 pm ET, April 27
Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church
801 Dummitt Ave., Titusville, FL 32780
*Built in 1889, Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church is the largest African-American church in Titusville, Fla.
On Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/crosleygreen/
Speakers (Lawyers):
- Keith J. Harrison, Crowell & Moring partner
- Jeane A. Thomas, Crowell & Moring partner
- Vincent J. Galluzzo, Crowell & Moring partner
Speakers (Green Family):
- Crosley Green
- Shirley White (sister to Green)
- O’Connor Green (brother to Green)
Additional Speakers:
- Diane Clarke, a former Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Sergeant and one of the two first-responding officers on the crime scene
- Kenneth B. Nunn, Professor of Law and Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn Memorial Racial Justice Term Professor (2021-22), University of Florida, Levin College of Law
