Former NFL Player Rae Carruth Released From Prison After Serving 19 Years

Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth was released from prison on Monday morning after completing his sentence after a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to commit the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams.

Now 44, the former NFL star was found guilty of masterminding the November 1999 shooting of Adams, who died about a month later in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Carruth had been serving a nearly 19-year sentence at the Sampson Correctional Institution, about 190 miles east of Charlotte, and he did not speak to reporters as he left in a white Chevy truck Monday, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Also Read: Ex-Carolina Panther Rae Carruth Apologizes for Conspiring to Kill His Son's Mother, Seeks Custody

He will be a on a nine-month post-release program, according to North Carolina Department of Public Safety spokesman Jerry Higgins, ESPN reported. He 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 eight months pregnant when she was shot in an ambush by hitman Van Brett Watkins, and she went into a coma and died from her injuries a month later.

Chancellor, now 18, was born via emergency caesarean section but suffered permanent brain damage and has cerebral palsy due to being without oxygen for 70 minutes.

Also Read: Former NFL-Player Rae Carruth Drops Custody Fight for Son Whose Mother He Had Killed

Carruth recently fought for custody of his son and battled to take him away from his maternal grandmother.

“I should be raising my son. His mother should be raising her son,” the former wide receiver wrote in a letter from prison earlier this year. “Ms. Adams should not be doing this and I want that responsibility back.”

He later backed down, and in a followup letter to the Observer said: “For all involved or invested in this ordeal, please calm down. I will no longer be pursuing a relationship with Chancellor and Ms. Adams [Chandra’s mom, Saundra]. I promise to leave them be, which I now see is in everyone’s best interest.”

Danica Patrick, Sage Steele and Sister Survivors Lead Female Empowerment at espnW Summit (Photos)

The ninth annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit kicked off at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California, on Monday, where the biggest names in sports, business and media tackled difficult topics from sexual abuse, gender equality and creating opportunities for athletes with special needs.
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Nine-time host Sage Steele opened the espnW Summit Monday afternoon.
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Andra Day’s ”Rise Up“ becomes the theme song for ESPN’s annual gathering of the world’s female athletes, leaders in the sports world and industry influencers

The ninth annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit kicked off at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California, on Monday, where the biggest names in sports, business and media tackled difficult topics from sexual abuse, gender equality and creating opportunities for athletes with special needs.

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Danica Patrick, Sage Steele and Sister Survivors Lead Female Empowerment at espnW Summit (Photos)

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