THE EMOTIONAL HOMECOMING OF A FLORIDA MAN WHO SPENT 32 YEARS IN PRISON - IS HE HOME FOR GOOD?

"48 Hours" Is There for the Man's First Moments of Freedom in "Crosley Green Comes Home"

Saturday, April 17

Crosley Green spent nearly 32 years incarcerated for the murder of a 22-year-old Florida man. Nearly three years ago a federal judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted. He was recently released while waiting for the U.S. Court of Appeals to rule after the state of Florida appealed the decision that overturned his conviction. Is he home for good?

Correspondent Erin Moriarty, who has covered the case for two decades, talks with Green about the case, his freedom and his future in 48 HOURS: Crosley Green Comes Home to be broadcast Saturday, April 17 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. 48 HOURS was there when Green was released and Moriarty visits with him and his family as they mark his return to life outside prison.

Green calls his release "a brand-new lease" on life. On his first full day of freedom, Green had a special request. He asked his attorneys if he could get ice cream. Green was handed a cone piled high with the flavor he'd been craving. "I've been wanting this strawberry ice cream for so long. That was one of the first things I wanted to get."

His case may not be over, however. He could be retried.

"I'm not afraid of it," Green tells Moriarty of a retrial. "I was innocent, I want my day in court to prove that. Give me my shot to prove that."

Green was convicted in 1990 for the 1989 murder of Chip Flynn largely on the testimony of Flynn's ex-girlfriend, Kim Hallock, who called 911 and reported a Black man hijacked the truck of her ex-boyfriend, Flynn, drove them to a citrus grove and shot Flynn. Hallock told investigators she jumped in Flynn's truck and drove away. Hallock's story had several inconsistencies.

Nearly three years ago, Green's conviction was overturned by a federal judge, who ruled prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense at his trial. The state of Florida appealed that decision and Green had been in prison waiting for the US Court of Appeals court to rule. His attorneys argued he was at risk of getting COVID-19 and dying in prison before the ruling was made resulting in his release.

He is not totally free. As part of his release, Green must wear a monitor on his ankle, tracking his location. It's a reminder, he says, that he might be home only for a while.

"I gotta be honest with you," he says. "I really don't believe I'm goin' back. I really believe that, deep down in my soul. I'm not going back to prison."

Moriarty and 48 HOURS report on the case and Green's future through interviews with Green, his family, his attorneys, investigators and more.

48 HOURS: "Crosley Green Comes Home" is produced by Asena Basak and Judy Rybak. Addison Briley is the field producer. Charlotte A. Fuller and Stephen A. McCain are the development producers. Michael Loftus is the associate producer. Grayce Arlotta-Berner, Jason Schmidt, Mike Baluzy, Joan Adelman and Jack Pyle are the editors. Patti Aronofsky and Gail Zimmerman are the senior producers. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. Susan Zirinsky is the president and senior executive producer of CBS News.

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