Ex-NFL player Kellen Winslow II denied by judge in bid to reduce his prison sentence
VISTA, Calif. — A San Diego County judge has denied an attempt by former NFL player Kellen Winslow II to get his prison sentence reduced on the basis that physical trauma from his football career contributed to the crimes that put him behind bars for 14 years.
Winslow, a former tight end with the Cleveland Browns, had argued in handwritten briefs to the court that new California criminal justice reforms allowed him to be resentenced. But Superior Court Judge Brad Weinreb ruled against him, stating that Winslow’s arguments weren’t timely and failed on their merits.
Weinreb noted that Winslow was sentenced to 14 years in 2021 after agreeing to plead guilty in a negotiated plea deal.
“Petitioner stipulated to this exact term as bargained for and the court cannot modify the plea as stipulated,” Weinreb wrote in his court order.
Winslow, 39, is likely to appeal Weinreb’s ruling and continue his bid to get out of prison earlier.
Winslow’s case
He currently is serving time at a state prison in Tehachapi, California, after being convicted of sex crimes against five women in San Diego County. In 2019, a jury there convicted him a raping a homeless woman, pulling his pants down to expose himself to another woman and committing a lewd act against a 77-year-old woman at a local gym. Winslow then pleaded guilty to two other crimes as he faced a second trial on other charges, including raping a woman while she was unconscious in 2003.
suffered from symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which a brain disease linked to blows to the head in football. His father of the same name, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, also claimed to have suffered brain injuries from football.
Weinreb’s order was dated Feb. 21 but was not available online and not previously reported.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com