A man convicted of murder who walked out of a Memphis jail by mistake more than a year ago is back in custody. Anthony Green, 25, was captured Wednesday afternoon after Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies, U.S. Marshals and the Memphis Safe Task Force tracked him down following a search warrant operation in the 3300 block of Knights Trail.
Green was already a convicted murderer when he vanished from the system in September 2025, a disappearance rooted in one of the more jarring jail errors reported in Memphis in recent memory. As WREG.com reports, officers acted on tips before executing the warrant that led to his arrest. He was then transported to the main jail at 201 Poplar, where he now faces new charges of first-degree murder, criminal attempt first-degree murder, and employing a firearm with intent to commit a felony.
A Guilty Verdict Followed by a Stunning Release
Green's path to Wednesday's arrest began on September 24, 2025, when a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the 2020 shooting death of Octavious Atkins, according to wreg.com. A judge immediately revoked Green's $500,000 bond the same day the verdict came down. But somehow, Green still walked free, released after posting a $2,500 bond tied to a separate, unrelated 2025 misdemeanor theft case.
The gap between conviction and release came down to paperwork. The jail had not yet received or processed the conviction information from the clerk's office before letting Green out, according to the same account. The station reported he was let out just after posting the theft-case bond, with the mismatch between his murder conviction and his release unresolved at the moment he walked out the door.
Sheriff's Office Admits Fault, Promises Changes
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office later conducted an internal investigation and determined that its own office was responsible for the procedural lapse, the report notes. Investigators found that a deputy failed to follow established protocols designed to ensure bonds are properly revoked when required. In a statement, the sheriff's office said: “We sincerely regret this oversight and take full responsibility for the procedure failure.”
Officials said immediate steps were being taken to reinforce training, improve oversight, and ensure compliance with courtroom and bail-related procedures going forward. The acknowledgment came after the error had already put a convicted murderer back on the streets for more than a year, a timeline that left Atkins' family reeling.
A Family's Outrage Over the Mistake
Octavious Atkins' family members told WREG they were outraged by the release error. Chiquita Williams said Atkins' mother believed she would finally get closure after Green's guilty verdict, only to learn he had left the jail within thirty minutes of her leaving court and downtown. That detail, drawn from the same report, underscores how quickly the system's failure unfolded relative to the conviction itself.
Multi-Agency Manhunt Ends on Knights Trail
It took more than a year, but the Shelby County Sheriff's Office fugitive apprehension team, U.S. Marshals and the Memphis Safe Task Force finally closed in on Green, acting on tips that led them to the Knights Trail address, per the station's report. Green now sits at 201 Poplar facing the new slate of felony charges tied to his capture, in addition to the murder conviction that was supposed to keep him locked up in the first place.
Cases of mistakenly released convicts are not unique to Memphis. A convicted murderer mistakenly released from a Florida jail was recaptured after a multi-day manhunt that spanned state lines, according to cbs12.com. In Baltimore, a man previously convicted of murder who was mistakenly released was back in police custody 21 days later, as reported by foxbaltimore.com. Green's case stands apart for how long he remained free before investigators finally caught up with him.
