‘UNFAIR AND PREJUDICIAL’

Court Tosses Georgia Dad’s Murder Conviction for Leaving Kid in Boiling Car

An appeals court said some evidence shouldn’t have been admitted at trial.

In a stunning verdict, the Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed a murder conviction against a father who was given a life sentence without parole in 2016 after his 22-month-old son died alone in a hot car. The court agreed that there was sufficient evidence to convict Justin Ross Harris, now 41, on sex-crime charges, but overturned his murder conviction for his little boy’s death. The court decided that some evidence about his sexual history shouldn’t have been allowed at trial because it could have swayed the jury. In its 6-3 decision, the majority opinion stated that prosecutors showed “unfair and prejudicial” evidence that “presented a substantial amount of evidence to lead the jury to answer a different and more legally problematic question: what kind of man is (Harris)?” The evidence in question included graphic photos and sexually charged messages detailing his extramarital sexual affairs, which the court argues had nothing to do with the death of his son, who was left in a hot car for seven hours while Harris was at work. Harris is now able to pursue a retrial on the child cruelty and murder charge, and the Cobb County District Attorney’s office will file a motion for reconsideration.