Once upon a time, an old geezer called his stint in prison a “holiday” and made a promise to his sobbing fiancée that their wedding day would definitely come. He savored strawberry ice cream at the stroke of midnight and pledged that he would have the best day ever, although little did he know, he was about to face a schedule stuffed with media interviews, family and friends’ visits, and more.
At some point, this dude named Green got up to the podium in a tiny church where he worshipped every Sunday since his release. It was supposed to be business as usual until he choked up and had to turn his back to the audience to stop the waterworks. But no sweat, he just wiped his tears with a tissue from his constant 7-year-old sidekick, shook it off, and said, “I’m good, guys. Watch me do my thing, and stay strong with me. God’s got my back!”
This Floridian guy chilled for thirty-two long years in prison after being convicted for the murder of 21-year-old Charles “Chip” Flynn in 1989. Flynn’s ex-girlfriend claimed that a “Black guy” kidnapped them both and shot Flynn to death. However, in 2021, a federal judge released Green since the prosecutor hid notes showing that initial investigators suspected someone else, i.e., the ex-girlfriend. By then, Green’s kids were already grown, and his hair had gone gray.
Now, get this; the Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) appealed the case, and guess what? The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the conviction, saying the evidence withheld wouldn’t have made a difference in court. Fast forward to two years later and Green must return to jail after the deadline given by the judiciary. His chances of getting clemency or parole are slim, but hey, his attorneys are still pursuing them, and there’s no harm in trying.
According to a Washington, D.C.-based Crowell & Moring attorney representing his case pro bono since 2008, Attorney Keith Harrison “never thought the system is perfect.” However, he thought it would be easier to correct wrongs, but unfortunately, they hit a dead-end. Nevertheless, Green’s supporters threw him a goodbye shindig at church, had lunch in a swanky hotel by the riverfront, and passed a recall petition to free him. Meanwhile, not too far off, about ten miles away, Kim Hallock Landers was making a public statement that the court got it right, and Green was as guilty as sin.
Hallock Landers, the ex-girlfriend of Flynn, seemed tired and emotionally drained from the whole drawn-out saga, explaining that she testified to the truth and needed no more blame cast upon her. Her husband chimed in to call Green a “cold-blooded killer,” and she still wakes up at night screaming from the trauma that night caused. In her original report to the police, she claimed that she and Flynn had been smoking marijuana while chatting about their relationship when a stranger type appeared out of nowhere and started playing James Bond.
She insisted that she snatched the revolver from Flynn’s glove compartment and hid it under a pair of jeans while the man ordered him to his knees and demanded money. Green, originally picked out from a six-man lineup of Black men, was on death row for nineteen years before being resentenced to life imprisonment in 2009. Five years later, in 2014, he sought federal intervention to overturn his conviction, which led to his release in 2021. He was under house arrest with an ankle monitor, couldn’t do much except go to work, church, and occasionally run errands, but he found love with a workaholic named Katherine Spikes, who happened to be his soulmate.
Spikes said she’s trying to hang in there and hopes that Green’s imprisonment is temporary. Forced to call off their wedding, they still talk at the same time every day, plan dinner together, and catch up on wrestling matches. Green’s lawyers insist they won’t stop fighting until he’s a free man again, and this time, hopefully for good. Green’s convinced that he’ll be out before long, saying, “I’ve got God’s support, and my belief is unwavering. So, even though I’m back in prison, I won’t shed a tear because everything’s going to be alright, and I’ll walk out those doors again, I just know it!”
Serious News: washingtonpost
