Macon, Georgia – A father in Georgia has been released from prison after his murder conviction was overturned in the tragic hot car death of his 22-month-old son. Justin Ross Harris, who left his son in a car for about seven hours while he worked at his office in suburban Atlanta, was found guilty in November 2016 on eight counts, including malice murder.
Harris, who initially moved from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to the Atlanta area for work in 2012, claimed that he forgot to drop his son at daycare on the morning of June 18, 2014. Temperatures reached the high 80s that day, ultimately leading to the death of his son from the intense heat.
The case drew international attention as parents are seldom charged with murder in such situations. Harris was sentenced to life without parole and an additional 32 years for other crimes. However, the Georgia Supreme Court voted 6-3 in June 2022 to overturn his murder and child cruelty convictions, citing “extremely and unfairly prejudicial” evidence presented during the trial.
Prosecutors had introduced evidence of Harris’ extramarital activities to suggest he wanted to kill his son. While the defense argued it was a tragic accident, the state Supreme Court upheld Harris’ convictions on sex crimes against a 16-year-old girl.
The trial was moved to Brunswick on the Georgia coast due to pretrial publicity in Cobb County. Cooper’s mother, Leanna Taylor, testified in Harris’ defense, maintaining that he did not intentionally kill their child. “He destroyed my life,” Taylor said during cross-examination. She filed for divorce in 2016.
Following his release from prison, Harris is now free after nearly a decade behind bars. The Associated Press contributed to this report.