ATLANTA (AP) — A father from Georgia will not face another trial over his toddler’s death in a hot car, prosecutors said Thursday, after the Georgia Supreme Court last year reversed his murder and child cruelty convictions. to life without parole, as well as 32 more years in prison for other crimes.
But the state Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn his murder and child cruelty convictions last June, saying the jury saw evidence that was “extremely and unfairly prejudicial.”
The Cobb County district attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, said in a statement that it disagreed with the majority’s decision. But because of that ruling, prosecutors said crucial evidence about Harris’ motive is no longer available for them to use.
After doing a thorough review of the entire case, prosecutors said they decided not to retry Harris on the reversed counts. A judge on Thursday signed off on the dismissal of those charges. Harris’ lawyers — Maddox Kilgore, Carlos Rodriguez and Bryan Lumpkin — have maintained from the start that Harris was a loving father and the boy’s death was a tragic accident. headtopics.com
“Ross has always accepted the moral responsibility for Cooper’s death,” they said in a statement after the charges were dismissed.
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Roberts: Supreme Court seeks to assure public on justices’ ethicsThe chief justice says he’s mulling ways to address worries about ‘standards of conduct.’
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