48 Hours - Crosley Green's Hard Time

Episode Date: April 19, 2020

Did a young white woman cause a wrongful conviction by blaming a murder on a “black guy”? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty has new details in the case she been covering for 20 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. There's a stigma attached to people like us who come out publicly against their fellow law enforcement officers. This entire case scares me. It shatters your foundation and your beliefs on our system of law and justice. It never goes away. The night it happened, it replays in the mind.

We don't know what happened that night. All we know is that Chip Flynn picked up his ex-girlfriend. They had sex. They smoked marijuana. Then Chip Flynn got shot. In the early morning hours of April 4th, 1989, the police received a 911 call from Kim Hallick. I was dispatched almost immediately. Police received a 911 call from Kim Halleck. I was dispatched almost immediately.

At this point, we knew it was a black guy and a white guy shooting at each other. They did eventually find Chip Flynn lying in an abandoned orange grove. He's been shot. I get a call shortly after 2 o'clock that he has died. There was a statement taken from Kim Halleck. The black guy stepped out with a gun and I heard about five or six gunshots. You don't see anybody else around. Shots were fired. You don't see any shell casings and it just makes you wonder. The black guy told me I was a slut. I don't believe a word she says. I think it's completely fabricated. It's unfortunately a classic case of what is often referred to as a racial hoax,

which is a black guy did it. So you get then called in by the prosecutor. I told him I thought she did it. I said to him, you know, I think you need to take a close look at Kim Halleck. Were you at all surprised when Crosley Green was charged with Chip Flynn's murder? It was a total shock. This was like picking a name out of a hat. 37 years ago, I was charged with murder.

The state essentially screwed him over. You remember this guy? This is Crosley Green back in 1999. Hi, Crosley. I'm Erin Moriarty with CBS. I didn't kill that young man, okay? I'm telling you, I keep telling you, I didn't kill that young man. I was really angry.

But I want the people to know that I'm not destroyed. I'm not down. I'm not down. I'm not forgotten. July 2018, we finally had a federal judge rule that Crosley Green had been wrongfully and unconstitutionally convicted. I was choked out. I couldn't believe it, really. I was at loss of words. Finally won, won, won round.

We're going on two years now since he got that decision. I think that's insane. There wasn't enough of a Travis Steven injustice before. I actually think it's a tragedy that he remains in prison. Thank you. We've made every legal effort to get him released. Nearly two years have passed since Crosley Green's murder conviction was overturned, and yet he remains in a Florida prison because the state is appealing the federal court's decision. The state's job is not to uphold convictions. The state's job is to seek the truth and to seek justice. Washington, D.C. attorneys Keith Harrison and Jean Thomas typically counsel an elite corporate clientele, but they're working for no pay at all for Greene, trying to win his

freedom after 31 years of incarceration. The evidence that Crosley Greene is innocent is literally overwhelming. They accused prosecutors of using faulty evidence and pressuring witnesses to secure the conviction of their client for the murder of 22-year-old Charles Flynn, better known as Chip. Flynn was found shot in a Florida citrus grove in 1989. He had been with his ex-girlfriend Kim Halleck that night. She told investigators that they had been robbed and hijacked by a man in Holder Park as they sat in Chip's truck a little after 11 p.m. Told Chip there's a black guy on your side and he rolled up

the window really quick. 20 minutes later, Kim says, Chip stepped out of the truck and she heard him say, hold on, man. Did you see that the black male was armed at that time? Yes, I did. Chip had a gun in his glove box. I took the gun out of the glove box and stuck it under some jeans that were next to me. She says the man tied Chip's hands with a shoelace, ordered her to hand over money from Chip's wallet. And then with everyone in this truck, she says the assailant drove them to the Orange Grove, steering, shifting gears, and somehow holding a gun on them all at the same time. Kim Hallick told police that when they got to the grove, the man yanked her out of the truck,

and then Chip, his hands still tied behind his back, somehow managed to get ahold of his gun that Kim had hidden on the truck seat. He leaned out of the truck and somehow shot at the guy, and the guy stepped back, chipped him out of the truck. I jumped in the truck, and I heard about five or six gunshots. She said she then drove to a friend's home for help.

Sheriff Deputy Mark Rixey and Sergeant Diane Clark were the first two officers on the scene. Kim Hallock says that this assailant took both Chip and Kim to the Citrus Grove at 1210. And yet you're not dispatched till 113. It's over an hour. There is approximately an hour that is missing and unexplained. How crucial was that time that night? Matter of life and death. Why is she not stopping someplace and making that phone call? Where could she have called? Right here. From payphone?

I think there was three along the way. A convenience store, convenience store, and the hospital's right there. The directions Kim gave were so vague that even after Clark and Rixey were dispatched, it took another 30 minutes to find Chip. Get the call at 113. I respond to this area. There's nothing there. Had to notify my dispatch to get better directions.

I drive to this new area here where they informed me to go. Again, there's nothing there. Why then were you first sent to the wrong location? That's a good question. One we'd been asking ourselves was 30 years ago. 30 years. Because she didn't tell us where to go. She gave the wrong direction.

Sergeant Clark ended up sending another deputy to pick Kim up so she could better guide them. She wouldn't yell in the car. We say, can you show us where? Yeah. Nope. Not going down there. What did that say to you?

What did you think? There's something wrong. Something is not ringing true. I would want to know, is he okay? They found Chip laying on his stomach with his hands tied behind his back, bleeding from a single gunshot wound to his chest. He was in pain, but I seriously thought he'd be okay. First words out of his mouth were, get me out of here. I want to go home.

Did he mention anything about an assailant? Nope. No. Did he mention anything about being robbed? No. Did he mention anything about being kidnapped? No. I'm thinking, what's going on here? My feeling about it at the time, and still is, that he was protecting her. Chip Flynn stopped breathing twice as they waited for an ambulance. Chip Flynn stopped breathing twice as they waited for an ambulance. Sergeant Clark tried to save his life. He didn't have to die. There wasn't anything he didn't like to do.

Chip's parents, Charles and Peggy Flynn, now both deceased, rushed to the Orange Grove when they got the word Chip had been hurt. But police wouldn't let them near the scene. I should have been able to go back to seeing his mom. The Flins, who spoke with us in 1999, were shocked to learn that Chip had been with Kim Halleck that night. Chip had a new girlfriend. That's all he talked about. He didn't mention Kim anymore or anything.

Chip's parents said Kim had become too possessive and overbearing. Chip liked his freedom. She wanted him to be with her all the time. Kim was upset about the breakup, according to Chip's friend David Stroop, who also spoke with us in 1999. I do remember that she didn't want to let go. And it was David's home where Kim Hallick went for help. I wondered why she came to my place

as opposed to just stopping at the first potential telephone, even a home with a light on or anything. So it's always bothered me. Kim Hallick was not and has never been a suspect. Homicide detectives from Brevard County Sheriff's Office seemed to take her at her word, despite her delay in calling for help and her inability to describe the assailant very well.

I really didn't even have a real good look at him. I was really scared. Investigators claim that almost immediately they got a tip that a small-time drug dealer, Crosley Green, was involved. He had recently been released from jail. The description that she had given for the sketch didn't match him. They showed Kim this photo lineup, and Kim chose number two, Crosley Green. His picture is smaller and darker than any of the other pictures.

And it's right in, you know, what is often referred to as the bullseye point of a photo array. Crosley Green admits he was no angel, but he had no history of violent crime. I think he was just an easy pick. We're going to put somebody in jail for this. Green was arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, and murder, despite no direct evidence linking him to Chip's shooting. There were no fingerprints of Crosley Green or third person on the truck. Not one single fingerprint. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project.

It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. We're going to talk to the people who were there, and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked.

And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn,

and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with.

In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. There was no case against Crosley Green. There was no case. It was a one-witness ID case. In August of 1990, Crosley Green went on trial for the murder of Chip Flynn. The case hinged on the testimony of Kim Hallick, the state star witness who identified Green as the black man who attacked the couple, defense attorney Keith Harrison.

That's the weakest kind of case where the only evidence you have is somebody said that guy did it. The state claimed there were also shoe prints found at Holder Park. Prosecutor Christopher White, now retired, said a dog followed the scent of those prints to the vicinity of a house where one of Green's sisters lived. White spoke with us in 2015. The shoe impressions were followed from the site where the truck was parked, supporting what Kim said about there being a third person there, a black male, who abducted them and did these things. Those shoe prints, however, were never linked to Crosley Green. But the prosecution also had three witnesses, all with criminal problems of their own, who claimed Crosley confessed. One was Crosley's own sister, Sheila.

The defense argued that Crosley couldn't have killed Flynn because he had an alibi. I can count for my time. I can count for my time. Crosley says he was seen at the time of the murder by multiple witnesses at a party two miles away. But his former attorney only called one to testify. Our attorney only called one to testify. And on September 5th, 1990, an all-white jury convicted Crosley Green of kidnapping, robbery and murder. He was sentenced to die in Florida's electric chair.

What's it like being here on death row? It's hell. It's hell to me because I'm here for a crime I didn't commit. Attorney Jean Thomas says jurors never heard the real story. When you look at all of the facts, you see that the state wanted to achieve a certain result. And they manufactured evidence. They coerced witnesses to lie. Even before the trial, Kim Hallick's account had serious inconsistencies. She told police that the assailant had managed to steer Chip's truck, shift gears, all while holding a gun on them. And yet, she told Chip's parents a very different story.

She was having to shift the gears for him. He would just smash a clutch and she would shift the gears. He was making her do that. for him, he would just smash the clutch and she would shift the gears. He was making her do that. And Tim Curtis, who had sold the truck to Chip Flynn, adds more doubts to Halleck's story. He told us that no stranger could just jump in the truck and drive. It had a custom gear shift and was hard to handle. Here's what any normal person would think. They look, they see a stick shift coming out of the floor.

I'm going to put it in first gear and take off out of here. And that's where he would have made his first mistake. What would have happened? He would have stalled the truck. That truck was difficult for anyone to drive. What about Crosley Green? Crosley Green couldn't drive a manual transmission. He couldn't drive a clutch.

Kim changed other parts of her story as well. According to this police report from the night of the shooting, she told a deputy that the assailant told her to tie Chip's hands. But just hours later in her taped interview, this black man was tying Chip's hands. Those inconsistencies, would that have concerned you? We're talking about who tied him? Yes. And who shifted the truck? Of course it would. If she was inconsistent, any inconsistencies. And yet another serious inconsistency. Kim's description of the assailant's gun matched a semi-automatic.

Kim's description of the assailant's gun matched a semi-automatic. She said that when she drove away, leaving Chip at that grove, she heard five to six gunshots. But no shell casings were recovered at the scene, and the only bullet found was the one that killed Chip. Your own expert said that, in fact, the bullet found in Chip Flynn could have come from his own gun. Did you find another weapon? Well, no. Did you ever find another shell casing to match that weapon? No, and we wouldn't if, in fact, he was shooting a revolver.

But, in fact, did you find any other bullet holes? Bullet holes? Not that I'm aware of. Just about then, Chip, his hands were behind his back. He leaned out of the truck and somehow shot at the guy. But that statement was contradicted by the evidence. Investigators found no gunshot residue on Chip Flynn's hands. The fact that his were tested and did not show any gunshot residue contradicts her story. I totally don't believe someone could actually jump out of that truck and shoot a gun behind their back with their hands tied anyway. When you look at this case, it is all circumstantial. I would love to have had a stronger case, but it is what it is.

As for those shoe prints at the park, criminalist Lisa DeMeo, who helped Crosley's defense team, told us that the diagram shown at trial contradicts the actual crime scene video. The shoe prints after proceeding west will then continue on around just to the outside of this fence. If these were the tracks of the assailant, they should end where the truck was parked, around here. They should end where the truck was parked, around here. But in fact, Mayo says they continue past the truck along the fence, as you just heard, and appear to leave the park. How could they belong to the assailant if, in fact, he got in the truck back here? They couldn't. No, no, they couldn't.

The trail of prints leaving Holder Park is missing from the diagram. This diagram supports Kim Hallick's story, but this diagram doesn't match the evidence at the scene? Correct. This was necessary to make her story fit. What's more, every one of the three witnesses who testified that Crosley Green confessed recanted after trial. There's a pattern that supports the fact that these folks were coerced. When a sister testifies against her own brother and says he confessed, it's hard to believe that could be coerced. Absolutely. She recanted almost immediately. We tracked down Sheila Green in 1999.

What did they say would happen if you didn't testify against your brother? I would never see my kids again. She told us she had no choice but to lie on the stand. Did Crosley ever tell you that he killed Chip? I never even talked to Crosley. He never told me that. Basically, they told me that this was my last chance to help myself because I was already convicted. But this is your own brother, Sheila. He will understand. You think he will? Yes.

He will. He know I did. What do you make of Kim Hallock's story? Chip's parents recorded Kim's account of the night Chip was shot. Hear what she said happened on Facebook at 48 Hours. Florida had a long history of being engaged in slavery and the plantation economy that has passed itself on to the criminal justice system here in this state. Kenneth Nunn, a professor at the law school at the University of Florida,

says the odds were stacked against Crosley Green in that Florida courtroom. I would say that Crosley Green's case is a miscarriage of justice. If you read the trial transcript, the prosecutor was using race to fill the gaps in the evidence. During trial, the defendant's race was referred to 140 times. And what kind of impact does it have in front of an all-white jury? With the very last thing these jurors hear, there's no mystery why Crosley Green took this woman to the Orange Grove. What we're talking about is this mythology that black men are uniquely criminal in their behavior. We think they are potential rapists. I told Chip there's a black guy on her side.

She accuses a black person of committing this crime. Who are they going to believe? And what has defined this case from the very beginning is that Kim Halleck was treated as a victim, never as a possible shooter. Everybody on the scene is a suspect until they're not. Every single person is tested for gunshot residue. That's not what happened here. To this day, first responders Diane Clark and Mark Rixey question why Brevard County detectives failed to do even a basic investigation of Halleck. Kim Halleck was taken in and questioned at 4.30, but not recorded until 8.20.

And what does that say to you? Well, she had time to get her story the way she wanted it. She was not a suspect. Did it ever occur to you or anyone else that maybe Kim Halleck wasn't telling the truth? Well, of course it did. Former prosecutor Christopher White. Then why wasn't

she ever investigated? Why was she never a suspect? What do you mean? No GSR taken of her hands? Why not? I don't know if there was or wasn't. There wasn't? Why weren't pictures taken of her hands, her arms, to see if she had any injuries? I guess they could have done more examination. I'll give you that, okay? Crossley Green's lawyer, Keith Harrison, finds it mind-boggling. Chip Flynn had broken up with Kim Halleck. He was seeing another woman. Kim Halleck was very upset about that. That's the oldest motive in the book. Jealousy. Jealousy. Still, why took Kim Halleck at her word? You've got to understand that it's kind of a small community here in Titusville. Kim Halleck lived in the area where I lived.

I don't see how there's anything here concrete to tell anybody that Kim Halleck lied. But there were those obvious red flags with her story. There was no moon on the night Chip Flynn was shot. It was completely dark in that orange grove. Based on her testimony, she said she didn't get a really good look at him. Yet Kim Hallett chose green out of this photo lineup, a flawed lineup, Professor Nunn says, that is no longer allowed under Florida's current laws.

You can't tell the witness that the suspect is in the batch, and that happened in this case. You have to make sure that the photograph matches all the other photographs. His head is smaller than the other ones, so he stands out. Would you do this today? Well, no. No, ideally I would not. Could she have picked the wrong person? I don't think she did, you know? Was she guessing more than she was sure? I couldn't tell you for sure.

That still leaves you with the issue whether or not it's Crosley, and you have arguments pro and con about that. But the one thing I'm sure of, based on the evidence in this case, it wasn't Kim Halleck. She was the only other one there. Who else would have done it? The only way all the facts are reconciled is if she shot him. I told everybody I ran into who had any interest in it, I thought she did it. I told the homicide sergeant, I told the homicide investigator.

I thought she did it. I told the homicide sergeant. I told the homicide investigator. And four months after the shooting, both Rixey and Clark met with prosecutor Christopher White. They wanted to make sure he knew of their suspicions of Kim Halleck. And how did Chris White take that information? He was dismissed, dismissive. I said to him, she is involved and I don't believe it's the person you arrested. I never heard anything else about it afterwards. I think that they got into an argument.

She pulled the gun out of the glove box and either intentionally or unintentionally shot him. They freak out. I don't want to get in trouble. We got to come up with a story. Let's make up this story. Why didn't you take their words seriously? I reviewed all the evidence that we had with that hypothesis in mind. Do they give me cause to believe that Kim Halleck may have committed this murder? My answer is no. You're that sure that Crosley Green is innocent? I would bet my life on it, yes. But in 2000, 11 years after Chip Flynn's murder,

the state claimed it had more evidence against Green. Two tiny body hairs allegedly found in Flynn's truck. They tested them for DNA. Matter of fact, I wanted them tested. I knew I haven't been in that truck. I've never been in that truck. There was sufficient DNA there to obtain a result using MTA DNA. That DNA, mitochondrial, cannot be used to identify a specific person. It can only identify broad family relations. And Crosley-Green could not be excluded from that group. It's not a match. The mitochondrial DNA test cannot definitively say this DNA is this individual's DNA. Crosley's

maternal relatives, for example, would be in this group that is not excluded. And in fact, Crosley's brother O'Connor believes the hairs could be his. He happened to be a friend of Tim Curtis, the original owner of the truck. It's possible because I drove the truck kind of regular. I'm not saying I drove the truck one or two times. I don't drove the truck several times. Are you at all troubled by the fact that Crosley Green could not be eliminated? That's nothing. That's not evidence.

That is not evidence. That is not evidence. It does not tie him specifically to that truck. You have that one hair that could have come from someone else, his brother. Uh-huh. Is there any other physical evidence, any other physical evidence, anything that connects Crosley Green to this case?

Well, I guess the simple answer to that is no. In 2009, after 19 years facing execution, Crosley Green's attorneys won a major victory. Because of an error in sentencing, Green was taken off death row. I felt real good at that time, but I know I have another hundred yards to go. But Crosley Green's request for a new trial was denied, even though some of the evidence was now in question. And all those witnesses who testified against him said they lied on the stand.

Have you ever had a case where three witnesses have recanted and lied? Have you ever had a case? Three. You know, I never have. That doesn't trouble you? Not coming from those people with those ties to the Green family and the Green family being what it is, no, it doesn't trouble me a great deal. But in an odd twist of fate, Christopher White provided just what Crosley Green's defense team had been waiting for. I was shocked. I knew immediately that this was a game changer. danger. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty, her specialty representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld,

and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's

most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha

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It's just the best idea yet. Heavenly Father, I thank you for gathering all of us together today. I've been without my family for quite some time now. I'm ready to go home. Hopefully I get that chance to go home. Oh! Oh! hopefully I get that chance to go home. Crosley Green was just 19 when his parents died, and he assumed the role of Papa to his large family, which is why Crosley's murder conviction was so deeply felt by his oldest child, Shuma, his brother, O'Connor,

and sisters, Shirley and Debra. I hope and I pray that one day Papa will be set free because he didn't do what they say he did. I worry about him a lot. And it's breaking the family. It's breaking the family down. Watch it. Y'all go over that way soon. Shuma was 16 and his brother Gaston was 6

when Crosley was sentenced to death. It damaged us. I got rebellious. I just went to get into trouble. No sense of direction. Because my dad was gone. I never was with my sons when they grew up. You know?

And I got grandkids now. I don't know how much time I got left on earth myself, but the little time I will have left, if I'm out there, it will be with them. But Rosalie Green will never be able to make up lost time with two of his sisters. They died while he's been in prison. Brenda and Tina, that's been tough. That's been tough. They have been with me all the way up until the time they die.

You miss them? Yeah. As for Sheila, the sister who helped put him on death row, he forgave her years ago. Does she feel a lot of guilt? Of course she do. But that's my sister. And I want her to know that I love her. No matter what, I'm not angry at her.

Okay. What happened to Crosley Green is questionable, but may not have been unusual in the late 1980s in Brevard County. What surprises us, actually, is that there were a series of cases that followed the same pattern. Three other convictions obtained by the Brevard County State's Attorney's Office have also been overturned and the men exonerated. Two of them have been prosecuted by Christopher White. The investigation and the prosecution ignored certain evidence, used techniques like dog tracking and jailhouse confessions. Just like Crosley Green's case, descriptions didn't match the descriptions of the perpetrators.

How do you feel about that? I feel that it's a terrible thing that an innocent person would be put behind bars. But we presented the evidence, it laid out like it did, and it went the way it did. As you sit here today, do you believe Crosley Green is the man who shot Shetland? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Yet, as it turns out, a decision White made back in 1989 would turn the tide for Crosley Green. Mark and Diane suspect the girl did it. She changed her story a couple of times.

Former prosecutor Christopher White took these notes after his meeting with Mark Rixey and Diane Clark when they told him their suspicions about Kim Halleck. One thing was she tied his hands behind his back. She never asked how the victim was while at the homicide. She wouldn't go down there to the scene. Why wouldn't the guy say who shot him? White never turned those notes over to Crosley's original lawyer.

This is the evidence of innocence that was hidden by the prosecutor. What was your reaction when you first read those notes? I was shocked. I really couldn't believe it. They can't just hide that evidence. They can't cover it up. They have to disclose it to the defense. Defense attorney Gene Thomas says those notes, which included inconsistencies in Kim Hallock's

story, would have been crucial at trial. It goes to the heart of the defense theory of the case, that there was no black man at the scene of this crime, that it was these two teenagers, that there was an accident, and then there was a story that was made up after the fact. Those notes would have had a tremendous impact on the case. And for that reason, Crosley Green got his first real break since he was taken off death row. In July 2018, a federal judge ruled that by withholding those notes, prosecutors violated Crosley Green's right to a fair trial. His conviction was overturned, and the judge

ordered a new trial. It was a miracle that finally there was a court that said, yes, his constitutional rights were violated. I feel great. I feel I'm going home. When his conviction was overturned, what did you think would happen? Man, I thought my brother would be home. But Crosley remained in prison. There was no new trial because the state appealed the decision and everything was put on hold. There comes a point when there is so much evidence of wrongdoing that you should say,

we feel that this is a conviction that we can defend. Crosley-Green waited another 19 long months behind bars before his lawyers finally got to speak before the Court of Appeals. How much is riding on that hearing? Literally everything. Should Crossley Green get a new trial? Look at the evidence in this case at 48hours.com. Giving a fair chance at proving you're innocent is what counts. Let me tell my story to the court system.

On March 12, 2020, Crosley Green's attorneys and those from the state of Florida face off in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals. At stake, will this court agree that Crosley Green deserves a new trial? You nervous? To be honest with you, I don't know if I'm nervous or not. I just want to come and go. Green is not allowed to go to Jacksonville, Florida to hear the oral arguments, but his family has shown up in force. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us here together.

We just ask that you move miracles today, Heavenly Father. Amen. Amen. There are Crosley's sons, nieces, nephews, and his siblings. Even Sheila, the sister who once testified against him, is here to

support him. We have not forgotten about him. And we're not giving up because we know he's innocent. The focus of the hearing? Those notes Prosecutor Christopher White took after meeting with Diane Clark and Mark Rixey 31 years ago. We're going to be focused on what the impact would have been if the government had not hidden these notes. No cameras are allowed, but audio from the hearing was later made public. We are here appealing an order that granted a new trial to Mr. Crosley Green. Assistant Attorney General Kelly Nealon argues that the notes withheld from Green,

Assistant Attorney General Kelly Nealon argues that the notes withheld from Green, pointing to Kim Halleck, were simply opinions of first responders and would not have made a difference at his trial. These two deputies never did anything in this case. They administered first aid to the dying victim. They collected a firearm. They roped off the scene. And that's all they had to do with this case. But Attorney Keith Harrison says they were crucial. These officers in these notes were trying to paint a picture for the prosecutor that they had the wrong man. Defense had no idea about any of that.

Are you saying that prior to trial, defense counsel did not know what the two detectives thought? Absolutely. After the hearing, Crosley's family is hopeful. I really felt good. I felt like the day was our day. His kids and his grandkids, them all loving him to death. We want him to know that they rooting for you, granddaddy. We want him to know that they're rooting for you, granddaddy. What's the best case here? The court rules in our favor, and at that point we would move for Carlsey's immediate release from prison.

That should end this case, because the state doesn't really have the evidence to go forward with a new trial. Will the state retry him? The Florida Attorney General's Office wouldn't comment on a pending case. If the state decides to go forward with a trial, we're going to defend Crosley. And we're going to make sure the jury hears all the evidence this time around. Gene Thomas says that at least eight alibi witnesses who were at that party with Crosley Green are ready to take the stand for him. It's quite a number of alibi witnesses who tell a very consistent story. I mean, if there's a new trial, it's not going to

just be Crosley Green who's on trial, is it? Well, in any trial, the credibility of the witnesses is a key factor. You can be sure that some of the inconsistencies in Kim Halleck's story would, of course, be a feature. Kim Halleck has not responded to our repeated requests for an interview. She's the star witness for the state. In fact, in a lot of ways, she's the only witness for the state. This case is really bigger than just about one man who's been wrongfully convicted. This case goes to fundamental fairness in our criminal justice system. Case goes to fundamental fairness in our criminal justice system.

I think what matters about Crosley Green's case is what it says about us. Are we a society that really cares about justice? Or do we just pay lip service to it. Is it okay for a person who hasn't committed a crime to spend decades in prison and time on death row for something he didn't do? Crosley Green went to prison when he was 31 years old. He turned 63 in September. We wanted to update his story now, although we don't know when the appellate court will rule. And like all inmates, Crosley is facing a new threat as the coronavirus is spreading in prisons. When we spoke to him in February, he remained hopeful.

From all the times I've talked to you, this is the closest you feel that you've come to really feeling you might be free someday. Yes. Yes. What does that feel like then? It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. I'm just hoping and praying that day comes soon. 48 Hours will continue to follow Crosley Green's case. Right now it seems as if everything is unpredictable. We're all stuck at home.

And like you, I'm feeling a bit helpless right now. But fear not. I want you to know you are not alone. We want to get through this as soon as possible. We can do that all working together. We've got to look out for each other. We are here for you. We're still us.

And we will get through this. Because we're all in this together. Isn't that right, Sam? He says that's right. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.