He finally was exonerated by Texas' court of appeals in November, and signed to play football with Eastern Michigan last week. "Hes doing very well. The wild journey of Greg Kelley, once a highly recruited high school football star before he spent more than 1,000 days in prison for a sex crime for which he later was fully exonerated,is adding another chapter. He made friends on the inside whom he keeps in touch with daily, and he said he intends to start a prison ministry to help people serious about turning their life around. He was compensated more than a half-million dollars for his wrongful conviction,as well as free college, but he still was on scholarship at Eastern Michigan. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! 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. 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. We weren't really scared going into the trial. "Being labeled a pedophile is worse than murder," Kelley explained. Christopher Dailey, who was the lead investigator on his case. Gregory has since also founded a company by the name of Tomahawk Targets, which makes custom axe throwing boards and corn hole sets, and has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Cedar Park and several of its officers for his wrongful conviction. According to the lawsuit filed in May and obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, Kelley alleges that Daileydid not verify Kelley's location the day of the assault, did not investigate other suspects, falsified information about when the assault happened and deleted emails about the case. 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. A former Cedar Park resident named Jake Brydon helped pay forhis defense through the appeals process. From what he told ESPN, Kelley's got some serious talent. Because the child was so small, they moved forwarded immediately and arrested Greg Kelley, the only known Greg who had been at that house. And I don't take it for granted. But there are no assurances, especially now in a global pandemic that might put the college football season in jeopardy. I've done everything I possibly can to show you that I didn't do this.". "You had no idea who I was after my conviction," Kelley saidin court on the day of his exoneration. The prime suspect now is Kelley's high-school friend, whose parents owned the house where Kelley was staying in 2013 as both his parents were battling illnesses. Greg Kelleyhas hopes and dreams, like a lot of people. There has not been another arrest in connection with Kelley's case specifically, though McCarty has been arrested and later convicted for other sex crimes. Eastern Michigan plays in the MAC, which postponed football until the spring but is discussing a revised fall schedule. 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.". "You really start looking at Greg and realize not only can this kid move well, he'll probably play on Saturdays at a big-time program," Hills said. WebA five-part documentary series examining the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley and a quest for truth and justice. "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. He recently married his long term girlfriend, the love of his life, Gaebri Anderson, who stuck by him all these years. Kelley has been completely exonerated and declared innocent. "You had no idea who I was after my conviction," Kelley saidin court on the day of his exoneration. His new attorney,Keith Hampton, filed multiple motions, alleging thatthe police investigation was shoddy and that Kelley wasn't properly represented at trial. Just last week he showed off the high school diploma he finally had a chance to go and get in person. All Rights Reserved. Kelley has since received a wrongful-conviction settlement from the state of Texas, and is suing the police department that targeted him from the beginning and never looked at other suspects. Kelley's case"clearly was the perfect storm of all aspects of the criminal justice system failing," Dick told Oxygen.com. He was arrested the summer before his senior year, and eventually was convicted and sentenced to up 25 years in prison without the chance of parole or appeal. Outcry is a five-part docuseries on Showtime that filmmaker Pat Kondelis made after he got invested into the story of Gregory Kelley and the sexual assault case that he was involved in. In July 2014, Greg went to trial on two counts of indecency with a child and two counts of super aggravated sexual assault. Kelleys supporters rallied to show their support of the convicted teen, and to point out the apparentholes in the case. Kelleyparticipated in a walk-on tryout for hisschool's football teamin the spring,Texas Athletics officialstoldKVUE. Kelly Gregg is 6-0 (183 cm) tall. 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. Having previously maintained that he conducted a thorough investigation in the Kelley case, Dailey had yet to comment. As Outcry shows,Kelley moved to New York City with his longtime high school sweetheart turned wife Gaebri, who supported him throughout the whole ordeal, before his conviction was officially vacated while she attended the Broadway Dance Center. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Kelley's case dates back to 2013, when he was a standout football player in Leander, Texas, who was committed to UTSA. "They just excluded any other possible theories about what else could have happened," Dick said of hispredecessors. But while that was the outcome Kelley had been praying for, his life hasn't simply snapped back to normal. Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. 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. WebGregory Raymond "Greg" Kelly (born December 17, 1968) is an American broadcast journalist. Kelley had spent time living in the home of a family that also used the home as a daycare business in 2013. "Football is a love of mine, something that I feel like has been given to me to love and to cherish and to experience," he told E! CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: collegefootball | pageType: stories | The Showtime mini-series premiered on July 5, 2020. Kelley said that of course children should have fierce advocates and they are generally doing important work. During it, the prosecution got an indictment that pushed back the date of the assault from July 12, 2013, to as on or about April 15, 2013, a time period wherein Greg was physically present as a resident of the McCarty house and was around the daycare. The Greg Kelley case covered in the Showtime docuseries Outcry was, well, worthy of an outcry. Well, I dont have that fear anymore.. The suit contends that Daileywas told Kelley hadn't lived at the McCarty home since June 2013 but changed the date to make it look as if he was still there on the July date the assault was alleged to have occurred. I didn't expect any of that. [9], The Hollywood Reporter said it was, "An effectively indignation-inducing true crime tale. Read More: Where Is Johnathan McCarty Now? He told Oxygen.comthat the prosecutors' office didn't get "any legal blame in any of this," which he said was unfair. Schumann returning to Georgia. All the while, he insisted he was innocent. News. Kelley's friend's parents owned an in-home daycare. We had to fall in love with each other's hearts through these letters.". Kelley said that of course children should have fierce advocates and they are generally doing important work. Additionally, Kelley is looking for reparations for the injustice he experienced. 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 It gave me a little bit more hope. News. Shama McCarty, Johnathan's mother, ran an in-home daycare, the scene of the alleged sexual assault. Separate from his own civil suit, Kelley is also eligible toreceive as much as $250,000 through the state'sWrongful Incarceration Act, according to his attorney. ", He added, "The heartache and division it has created in our town is something that should never happen. "This particular child said Greg," he acknowledged. Binge These True Crime Shows and Documentaries, Why Alonzo Brooks' Death Needed Further Investigationand Not Just From. ", He calls his wife, Gaebri Anderson, "totally unreal," adding, "I don't think there's a woman out there that can compare to the amount of heart and faith she hasI would be a damn fool to ever try to let that go. (Featured Image Credit: Showtime). Texas Ranger Cody Mitchell, tasked with leading the new investigation in 2017, testified that August that he had determined that the Cedar Park Police had botched the original investigation. And after Shawn Dick took office in 2016 and became the Williamson County district attorney, even the prosecutor's office sided with Kelley and his supporters. Leander, TX. He made the announcement on an Instagram post uploaded on Saturday. [11], Decider considered whether to "Stream It Or Skip It" and called to "Stream It" as did 73.5% on their Twitter poll. And once he was convicted, those who had assumed he was guilty figured they were merely being proved right. Texas is my dream school, Kelley told Horns247. The legal team also filed documents naming an alternate suspect, Johnathan McCarty. It appears he will end his Eastern Michigan career before playing a single game. Kelley's then-girlfriend and current wife Gaebri Anderson Kelleynoted that McCarty was the first person to come to mind when she heard about the accusations. "And he's never said anything but Greg and he said it under oath. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. And "I want this kid to feel like he's been delivered justice. He was just a junior at that point. Greg Kelley went from a football hero to a wrongfully convicted sex offender sentenced to 25 years without parole. Greg Kelley may soon get a new trial after his sexual-assault conviction. In the fall, after signing with Eastern Michigan, Kelley told The News, "I feel like I'm a 19-year-old kid again.". 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. The crime? 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. "He is a student there and ready to take the field. The efforts of activist Jake Braydon and the legal work of defense lawyer, After getting out of prison in 2017, a friend of Kelley's convinced former Longhorns' running back, , who is now an elite performance coach to NFL players such as. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. ", Shawn Dicktold reporters a few weeks later, "Wewere able at least to get to the truth of whether or not Greg Kelley should have been convicted and whether or not the trial was held appropriately. All 10 FBS commissioners are unanimous in their support for three proposed rules changes that aim to shorten the length of college football games, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN. He made friends on the inside whom he keeps in touch with daily, and he said he intends to start a prison ministry to help people serious about turning their life around. I myself was losing hope, but all these people started believing in me and they started to say, 'Hey, Greg, we're here for you man, we love you, we're gonna get you through this.' "Still to this day, it doesn't get easier," Kelley told E! The suit contends that Daileywas told Kelley hadn't lived at the McCarty home since June 2013 but changed the date to make it look as if he was still there on the July date the assault was alleged to have occurred. "Everything that happens to me from here on out is a blessing. "I want to give back," he said. Hes living the American dream. His story was the subject of the hit Showtime documentary, "Outcry," which Eastern Michigan officials watched before signing off on the scholarship offer. "So I want to explore that, I want to be given an opportunity to go and show these coaches like, 'Hey, I can continue to play, I've got tons of heart. Agirlhadaccused him of drugging and assaulting her at a frat party in 2015, when she was 15 and he was 18.). That's how Eastern Michigan's newest football recruit, Greg Kelley, chooses to look at life these days, after an eight-year, nationally publicized saga that saw the one-time top-shelf Texas high-school football star wrongfully convicted for child sexual assault and spend three-and-a-half years in prison. "Those guys taught me so much about getting through and persevering through such a place full of hatred and violence, and racists. "I have nothing but gratitude for people that saved me from that injustice.". Brydon said. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Another Hail Mary, interestingly, got him to this point convicted and sentenced to 25 years without the chance of parole in 2014, it took a tirelessadvocate, an unconvinced lawyer and an opened-minded district attorney to take up the case, eventually unearthing a shoddy and unethical police investigation and inadequate legal representation the first time around. They both may have had too much confidence in the system, but at least in the end, her faith and trust in Greg was not misplaced. He was convicted in 2014 of super-aggravated assault on a child and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Though he may be 25, there's some belief that he could make a legitimate impact on the field. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. News. ", Kelley also said that day, "I was given my freedom and I'm happy with it." In 2013, in the sprawling Texas suburbs of Leander, north of Austin, a standout high school football star by the name of Greg Kelley was [7] Metacritic rates Outcry 78% from 5 critics. His case gained popularity thanks to "Outcry," a five-hour Showtime documentary series released in July that focuses on his conviction and the six-year attempt to overturn it. "Picked up my long overdue high school diploma yesterday at Leander High School," he wrote on Instagram. Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. A judge recommended to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Kelleys conviction be vacated in 2017 after a long and difficult battle from Kelley's supporters, according to theNational Registry of Exonerations. His team lost on a Hail Mary. "When you're in there as a pedophile you're already the scum of the earth." "So I want to explore that, I want to be given an opportunity to go and show these coaches like, 'Hey, I can continue to play, I've got tons of heart. Its been hard for me to hold a job, pass a background check. The handsome young Texas football star seemingly had a He had been fighting to overturn his conviction ever since it was handed down, but the campaign really picked up steam when Shawn Dick, a newly elected Williamson County district attorney, reopened the case. 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. [5], Rotten Tomatoes favorably rates Outcry 89% from 9 critics and 93% from 15 users,[6] while the Internet Movie Database rates it 8.4/10 from 690 users. And "I want this kid to feel like he's been delivered justice. Give me a shot.' Kelley wrote her letters with drawings of hearts all over themfrom prison. These past two years have been a struggle, he said after his official exoneration. A few days after the arrest, another child came forward and said that he too was forced to indulge in sexual acts, however, he later recanted. But Kondelis said he's done nothing more rewarding than Showtime's "Outcry," a five-part series that was released in June and tells the story of Eastern Michigan's newest football player, Greg Kelley. "Being labeled a pedophile is worse than murder," Kelley explained. It's testimony, so how does a prosecutor overcome that? News, "hate is a virus and I have to realign myself with what my purpose needs to be, every time I wake up. McCarty's family had taken Kelley in when Greg's own parents' health problems made it tough for them to take care of him. From the first day in my heart, I knew he didn't do this." (In an unrelated case, Johnathan was sentenced to four years in prison last yearafter pleadingguilty to unlawful restraint and drug charges. Kelley, 26, was officially part of the Eastern Michigan's 2021 signing class, and played in the Eagles' spring game April 16, recording an interception. Furthermore, an investigator used questionable tactics to interview the children. "[10], Michael Morton, who was mentioned in Outcry as also having been wrongfully convicted, expressed that the way the prosecutors are being presented in Outcry is problematic. "Greg Kelley" redirects here. But he's also busy simply enjoying his freedom. 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.