Wendell Smallwood Jr. will be by his daughter’s side in her final days after being granted early release from prison.
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Gloucester County Superior Court Judge Renard Scott approved a motion to withdraw Smallwood’s guilty plea from last year, on August 7, in order to see his dying daughter, The News Journal reported on Monday.
Mila, Smallwood’s eight-year-old daughter, was diagnosed with diffuse anaplastic Wilms tumor, an aggressive and rare childhood kidney cancer, in 2026. After unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments, she is in palliative care and has been granted days or weeks to live, according to the report.
Smallwood, a former running back with the Eagles, Commanders and Steelers, was sentenced to 18 months in prison last September for a COVID-19-related fraud scheme. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to charges of felony wire fraud, conspiracy and tax fraud tied to economic relief programs.
In March, he pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm for possessing an AR-15 rifle in New Jersey. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, concurrent to his federal sentence.
At the time, New Jersey banned the ownership of assault weapons, but a July ruling from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons was unconstitutional. This provided Smallwood legal grounds to withdraw his guilty plea.
Smallwood’s emergency hearing on August 7 ruled that Mila’s severe illness was a notable reason for granting Smallwood’s motion, which could have seen him released as early as Monday.