Three trades in a chaotic top five, The new law changing service academy football, and the coaches pushing back, Realignment chatter: How the Pac-12 holds the key to it all. Kelley was accepted at the University of Texas and, after getting a walk-on tryout this spring, hopes toplay for theLonghorns. I had friends since I was a baby who were saying, 'I can't believe you are sticking by him.' "Worse than murder" when you're in prison, Kelley said in an interview last month with E! "And he's never said anything but Greg and he said it under oath. "Me and my family, that nightmare that we went through, is something I don't wish on my worst enemy. "It's what I love. Kelley was enrolled at Texas and was preparing to try to walk on the football team, but right as that was about to happen, COVID-19 hit, and Texas halted the walk-on program. [11], Decider considered whether to "Stream It Or Skip It" and called to "Stream It" as did 73.5% on their Twitter poll. ", Why Alonzo Brooks' Death Needed Further Investigationand Not Just From Unsolved Mysteries, And when he was convicted, Kelley recalled, "a groundswell of support from above started coming up and people started having my back. "Those guys taught me so much about getting through and persevering through such a place full of hatred and violence, and racists. And "I want this kid to feel like he's been delivered justice. It's testimony, so how does a prosecutor overcome that? But, when one of the children at the McCarty daycare accused Kelleyof molestation, his college football dreams as well as his entire life fell apart. He contendedthe police did a "truly deficient" job, claimed that Kelley's initialdefense attorney "had a conflict of interest," argued that the prosecution "had blinders on," and said the jurors didn't all go with their gut. And I don't take it for granted. "Hes a young inspiring entrepreneur," Brydon told, Hes doing very well. "When you're in there as a pedophile you're already the scum of the earth." We wanted to make sure that this guy did not want to come right next door to y'all's town, because I know you guys love your town just like we love ours, and do this to somebody else. Kelley said in an Instagram post. Greg Kelleys life has not been simple. "This particular child said Greg," he acknowledged. Greg Kelley, a former Texas high school football player who was legally exonerated last November following a wrongful conviction in 2014 in a child sexual assault case, has signed with Eastern Michigan on a football scholarship. Almost two years later, the appeals court agreed, sent their decision back to the district court to formally dismiss the indictment, and King declared an emotional Kelley "formally exonerated.". ", Strangers really did come out of the woodwork. 'sJust the Sip, available wherever you get your podcasts. Can the Lions fix their defense? "We believe that much of Greg's youth has been taken away from him and we want to give him the opportunity to live out his dream of playing Division I football," Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton said Saturday. Kelley was arrested his senior year of high school in 2013 for allegations of sexual abusing a 4-year-old child. His team lost on a Hail Mary the year before, too. At that time, Gregs father was hospitalized due to a stroke and his mother was suffering from a brain tumor, so his teammate and friend, Johnathan McCarty, offered his place for him to stay. He finally was exonerated by Texas' court of appeals in November, and signed to play football with Eastern Michigan last week. "We believe that much of Greg's youth has been taken away from him and we want to give him the opportunity to live out his dream of playing Division I football," Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton said Saturday, per ESPN. Leander, TX. District Judge Donna King recommended in December 2017 that Kelley's conviction be overturned, writing in her decision that the state wouldn't have been able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt ifcertain evidence that had come to light since had been presented at trial. [9], The Hollywood Reporter said it was, "An effectively indignation-inducing true crime tale. Kelley's other defenders pointed out that both the high schooler's original lawyer and the prosecution made missteps by not looking at all the evidence including neglecting to interview McCarty, who happened to look just like Kelley. Hes a productive member of society.". Fortunately, Greg has been able to look forward in life. Just last week he showed off the high school diploma he finally had a chance to go and get in person. Saying things they can't and they won't take back and, still to this day, I continue to get persecuted, and it breaks my heart. WebGet the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about defensive back Greg Kelley on ESPN. I didn't expect any of that. It almost feels like my entire life was put on pause and I entered this blackhole and got spit out when I was 25 years old. He always maintained his innocence, though, never once wavering from it. An attorney for Cummings told theAmerican-Statesmanthatshe didn't have any evidence against this third person when she was on the case, but "it is significant that they are now saying that he is the one who did this. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Still, none of that changesthat he spent almost seven years, including three behind bars, with a cloud ofguilt hanging over his head. If GK could get through all the things he had to get through - getting cleared and then getting into the University of Texas - Id bet everything on him to do what it takes to earn the right to put on that Texas jersey. Eastern Michigan wasn't sure what to expect from him on the field, given he hadn't played in years, but the potential was there to make an impact, coachesagreed. Over six years ago, Greg Kelley, an 18-year-old at the time, was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He spent three years in prison before his innocence was finally proven in 2019. Skip to main content News Football Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault has been named to the College Football Playoff selection committee, along with Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler and Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen. He tried to walk on to the Texas Longhorns in the beginning of 2017, but was told the team was not taking walk-ons that season. As "Outcry" points out, McCarty's initial lawyer was close friends with the McCarty family and she declined to look at himas a potential subject. True Hollywood Story Through the Years, In early November, when the appellate court agreed Kelley's conviction should be overturned, Hampton told reporters that prosecuting someone else for the crime would be a tricky case no matter what. ", Kelley also said that day, "I was given my freedom and I'm happy with it." Not everybody who gets falsely accused ever gets to see the other side of justice. We all agree that if [this person] committed the offense, then Greg's conviction should certainly be reversed.". It really does. After he was convicted, a crowd of supporters surrounded him but a cloud of uncertainty about his future continued to follow as shown in a new docuseries about the flawed case against him and his eventual freedom. It gave me a little bit more hope. Kelley wrote her letters with drawings of hearts all over themfrom prison. If youre that sure he did it youll give him no jail time, but if he is that adamant about not pleading guilty, youll give hima 25 year sentence?" On June 11, Greg moved back to his place, but more than a month later, a woman came forward and told the authorities that her son said that Greg had assaulted him. [E]ven though I didn't technically have a senior year as a normal high school student, the past is the past and the future is limitless. "Picked up my long overdue high school diploma yesterday at Leander High School," he wrote on Instagram. McCarty's family had taken Kelley in when Greg's own parents' health problems made it tough for them to take care of him. I've done everything I possibly can to show you that I didn't do this.". The former high school football star, whose story was just told in the Showtime documentary seriesOutcry, spent three years in prison for a crime he didn't commit and, even after his release in 2017, he was only formally exonerated this past November. Kelley has been completely exonerated and declared innocent. And once he was convicted, those who had assumed he was guilty figured they were merely being proved right. "They just excluded any other possible theories about what else could have happened," Dick said of hispredecessors. Previously, he was the co-host of Court documents filed by Hamptonin December 2018 stated that they also had athird suspect, whose name was not made public,who hada prior arrest on a charge of indecency with a child and had also lived in the home where the abuseallegedly took place. 2023 www.detroitnews.com. "But," he added, "it turned into about six or seven of them turning it more into a hatred towards me. I'm still waiting for that decision from Texas, to see if I'm going to be a walk-on this fallif we have a fall season.". [12], Lawyer Robert Barnes highly recommends Outcry, stating, "What's also still unsettling is that even Texas Rangers and high-ranking law enforcement officers still don't know how to prosecute a child abuse case."[13]. The crime? Kelley wrote her letters with drawings of hearts all over themfrom prison. "Imagine not being able to kiss or hug the person you love. We got to premiere this documentary months before it came out and, sitting there with my family, reliving six years of heartache in a documentary that's about five hoursI mean, there's no words to explain it.". Unfortunately, we were unable to get to the ultimate answer of what happened to the child. A 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety, Kelley told ESPN he is excited to "shake off the cobwebs" after seven years away from football and will play at the same rover position at EMU that he played in high school. "Still to this day, it doesn't get easier," Kelley told E! 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