Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth was released from prison on Monday morning after serving more than 18 years for conspiring to murder the mother of his unborn child.
A former first-round pick, Carruth completed his sentence of 18 to 24 years and exited the Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, N.C.
Carruth, who did not speak to reporters, devised a plot to kill Cherica Adams during a shooting in November 1999 as a means of preventing her from giving birth and paying child support. Adams was shot four times, but managed to make a 911 call that helped implicate Carruth. She fell into a coma and died about a month later.
On Monday, Carruth walked out wearing a knit cap and unzipped jacket just after 8 a.m. ET. The 44-year-old took a few steps before climbing into a white SUV.
Carruth will be a on a nine-month post-release program, according to North Carolina Department of Public Safety spokesman Jerry Higgins.
Van Brett Watkins, who was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years, shot Adams in 1999. She was seven months pregnant with Chancellor Lee, who as a result of the shooting was born prematurely. He is now 18 and has cerebral palsy.
Carruth has repeatedly said he wants to have a relationship with his son. He told WSOC-TV in Charlotte in a telephone interview, “I just truly want to be forgiven.”
Carruth was selected by Carolina with the 27th overall pick of the 1997 NFL Draft out of Colorado. He was named to the All-Rookie team in his first year in the league, but he was injured for most of the 1998 season and averaged just 36.5 yards per game for his career.
The Panthers released Carruth and the NFL suspended him indefinitely after he fled the Charlotte area after posting $3 million bail. Carruth was tracked down by the FBI and arrested from the trunk of a car in a Best Western hotel parking lot in Tennessee.
