Ex-Panther Carruth released from prison
Rae Carruth is a free man. The former NFL wide receiver was released from prison Monday after serving more than 18 years for conspiring to murder the mother of his unborn child.
The Carolina Panthers’ 1997 first-round draft pick was released from Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina, after completing his sentence of 18 to 24 years.
Carruth did not speak to reporters as he left 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 when he got into a white SUV and was whisked away. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
The 44-year-old Carruth will be on a nine-month postrelease program, according to North Carolina Department of Public Safety spokesman Jerry Higgins. 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.
Carruth was found guilty of orchestrating a plot to kill Cherica Adams on Nov. 16, 1999, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to avoid paying child support. Adams was shot four times while driving her car but managed to make a 911 call that helped implicate Carruth.
Adams went into a coma and died less than a month later after the shooting.
The child she was carrying, Chancellor Lee Adams, was delivered by emergency cesarean section but suffers from permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy.
BUCCANEERS: Tampa Bay’s struggling defense will be without middle linebacker Kwon Alexander for the remainder of the season.
The fourth-year pro was injured during the first half of Sunday’s 26-23 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns.
A MRI performed Monday confirmed that the 24-yearold, a fourth-round draft pick in 2015, has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
“It’s unfortunate,” coach Dirk Koetter said. “Kwon was playing so well, and was the heart and soul of our defense.”
CARDINALS: Embattled first-year coach Steve Wilks emphatically said the Arizona Cardinals are not going to trade star cornerback Patrick Peterson, who at 28 years old should be in the prime of his career.
Wilks’ comment Monday came moments after a report via Twitter that said Peterson had asked the Cardinals to trade him by the Oct. 30 deadline.
“We’re not trading Patrick,” Wilks said. “That’s out of the question.” BRONCOS: The longest-tenured Bronco isn’t sure if he’ll be in Denver much longer as rumors swirl that wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is available as the NFL’s trade deadline approaches next week.
“It’s football. It’s a business. That’s what happens,” Thomas said Monday of the trade buzz. “That’s what happens. It’s happened before. I never think it would happen to me. But I’m just like everybody else. I’m an athlete and it happens once you get older.” BROWNS: Coach Hue Jackson believes owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam still support him despite the team’s continued losing.
Jackson said his confidence is based on “conversations” he’s had with both the Haslams and general manager John Dorsey. The Browns (2-41) lost in overtime on Sunday and dropped to 3-35-1 in twoplus seasons under Jackson.