Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, who in 2001 was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, was released just after 8 a.m. ET Monday from the Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina.
Carruth, 44, devised a plot to kill Cherica Adams during a November 1999 shooting. Adams died about a month later.
Carruth did not speak to reporters as he left the prison wearing a knit cap and an unzipped jacket on a chilly morning with temperatures in the high 30s. There was a smattering of applause as Carruth got into a white SUV and was whisked away from the prison.
He will be a on a nine-month post-release program, according to North Carolina Department of Public Safety spokesman Jerry Higgins. Carruth would need special permission from a case officer to leave the state or the country during that span, but is free to go wherever he pleases after nine months.
Adams was shot four times by Van Brett Watkins, who was hired by Carruth. Watkins was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years.
Carruth, Carolina's first pick of the 1997 draft (No. 27 overall), was sentenced to 18 to 24 years. He stopped his vehicle in front of Adams' as the two returned from a movie, so Watkins could pull alongside in another vehicle to kill Adams.
Chancellor Lee Adams, Carruth's son, is now 18 years old. Chancellor Lee, who has cerebral palsy, survived the shooting while in his mother's womb, but a loss of blood and oxygen the night of his birth caused permanent brain damage. Saundra Adams, Cherica's mother, has raised her grandson since his birth.
Carruth has repeatedly said he wants to have a relationship with his son. Saundra Adams had previously said she would be there when Carruth got out of prison, but she was not present Monday.
Last week, Carruth told WSOC-TV in Charlotte in a telephone interview, "I just truly want to be forgiven.''
He went on to say he was "somewhat frightened'' about his release, adding that "I'm nervous just about how I'll be received by the public. I still have to work. I still have to live. I have to exist out there and it just seems like there is so much hate and negativity toward me.''
DonaldDouchebag wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:08 am
Sentencing guidelines are really fucked when you can kill someone and still walk free for a good portion of your life.
Exactly! Baby Carruth needs to catch a pipe do his dome.
“We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.”
— Malcolm X
True Crime Garage did a podcast on this case. The jury knew he was guilty but couldn't convict him of 1st degree murder because the guy who shot his girlfriend was up for that. Something about his defense team setting that up that that's why Carruth didn't go away longer. Fucked up. He had pressured past girlfriends into having abortions and tried to have this one get one as well but she didn't want to.
The 911 call from his girlfriend is hard to listen to.
DonaldDouchebag wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:08 am
Sentencing guidelines are really fucked when you can kill someone and still walk free for a good portion of your life.
Technically, he didn't kill her, which I'm sure was what his defense team argued as well.
Herky wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 3:21 pm
True Crime Garage did a podcast on this case. The jury knew he was guilty but couldn't convict him of 1st degree murder because the guy who shot his girlfriend was up for that. Something about his defense team setting that up that that's why Carruth didn't go away longer. Fucked up. He had pressured past girlfriends into having abortions and tried to have this one get one as well but she didn't want to.
The 911 call from his girlfriend is hard to listen to.
Q. What is former NFL player Rae Carruth doing now that he is out of prison? Any plans to get back with the Panthers? — J.L., Hope Mills
A. After 19 years behind bars, former football player Rae Carruth was released from prison in October 2018. According to NBC News, Carruth was charged with first degree murder, orchestrating the shooting death of his then-pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. The first round draft pick, who played three seasons for the Carolina Panthers, was spared the death penalty, acquitted of first degree murder and convicted instead of conspiracy to commit murder.
Currently, Carruth is not playing football professionally. And there are no expectations that he will ever be back to playing professional football with the Panthers. According to NBC News, Carruth, now 45, has debated moving back to the West Coast.
Just in case anyone was wondering, he's probably not coming back to play football
Q. What is former NFL player Rae Carruth doing now that he is out of prison? Any plans to get back with the Panthers? — J.L., Hope Mills
A. After 19 years behind bars, former football player Rae Carruth was released from prison in October 2018. According to NBC News, Carruth was charged with first degree murder, orchestrating the shooting death of his then-pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. The first round draft pick, who played three seasons for the Carolina Panthers, was spared the death penalty, acquitted of first degree murder and convicted instead of conspiracy to commit murder.
Currently, Carruth is not playing football professionally. And there are no expectations that he will ever be back to playing professional football with the Panthers. According to NBC News, Carruth, now 45, has debated moving back to the West Coast.
Just in case anyone was wondering, he's probably not coming back to play football
I would like to see the person that posited that question. Dudes been in jail for 20 years, is at an age when most NFL WRs are long retired, and they're asking if he's coming back? Only in 'Merica.
I apologize in advance if what I just said offended or upset you.
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
Q. What is former NFL player Rae Carruth doing now that he is out of prison? Any plans to get back with the Panthers? — J.L., Hope Mills
A. After 19 years behind bars, former football player Rae Carruth was released from prison in October 2018. According to NBC News, Carruth was charged with first degree murder, orchestrating the shooting death of his then-pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. The first round draft pick, who played three seasons for the Carolina Panthers, was spared the death penalty, acquitted of first degree murder and convicted instead of conspiracy to commit murder.
Currently, Carruth is not playing football professionally. And there are no expectations that he will ever be back to playing professional football with the Panthers. According to NBC News, Carruth, now 45, has debated moving back to the West Coast.
Just in case anyone was wondering, he's probably not coming back to play football
I would like to see the person that posited that question. Dudes been in jail for 20 years, is at an age when most NFL WRs are long retired, and they're asking if he's coming back? Only in 'Merica.