Former NFL player Rae Carruth, who served 19 years for putting a hit out on his then-pregnant girlfriend, has been released from prison. He walked out a free man early Monday morning (Oct. 22).

Reports TMZ:

Rae was a talented football player — the Carolina Panthers took him in the 1st round of the 1997 NFL Draft and made the NFL All-Rookie Team after a pretty solid rookie season. 

But, he threw it all away in Nov. 1999 when he conspired with a gunman to murder 24-year-old Cherica Adams, who was 8 months pregnant with his child. 

Officials say Carruth and Adams got in separate cars after a movie date and once they got on the road, he blocked her vehicle so the gunman could have a clean shot. 

Adams was hit 4 times but managed to call 911 — and emergency personnel were able to perform an emergency C-section and save the baby. Cherica died 4 weeks later. 

The child, Chancellor Lee Adams, was born with severe cerebral palsy due to trauma from the shooting. He’s been raised by Cherica’s mother, Saundra, ever since. 

Carruth was sentenced to 18 – 24 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, attempting to destroy an unborn child and discharging a firearm into occupied property.

The jail could have kept him forever.

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Photo: Getty