Justin Ross Harris, who was found guilty in 2016 of murdering his 22-month-old son Cooper by leaving him in the back seat of …
Justin Ross Harris, who was found guilty in 2016 of murdering his 22-month-old son Cooper by leaving him in the back seat of a hot car, had his conviction overturned Wednesday. The Georgia Supreme Court found that the trial court allowed improper evidence that may have clouded the jury’s judgment in the case. In a 134-page opinion, Chief Justice David Nahmias noted that there was « substantial evidence » on both sides of the case during trial. Prosecutors presented a narrative that Harris wanted to kill his son so that he could be free of responsibility to pursue relationships with women he met online. Harris’ defense put forward a case that Harris was a loving father who made a tragic mistake by going to work and leaving Cooper in the car, forgetting to drop him off at day care first.
« What was going through appellant’s mind when he left the vehicle? » Nahmias wrote, identifying that as the key question in the case. The judge noted « the state also presented a substantial amount of evidence to lead the jury to answer a different and more legally problematic question: What kind of man is appellant? »
Prosecutors from Cobb County, Georgia, flooded the record with evidence of Harris’s extramarital relationships, including sexual messages and images he allegedly sent to women and even underage girls, in addition to hiring a prostitute.
