A Chicago man convicted in a murder case where the key witness was blind has been freed from prison, per the Atlanta Black Star.
Darien Harris was convicted in 2014 in connection to the fatal shooting of Rondell Moore, who was killed at a gas station on Chicago’s South Side in June 2011. At the time of his arrest, Harris was an 18-year-old senior in high school who had no criminal record. He was sentenced to 76 years in prison.
Harris’ family maintained that he was innocent, citing that he was at home watching a basketball game at the time of the shooting. Relatives later learned that the key witness who testified that Harris was the shooter was legally blind and could see “nothing” when the incident occurred.
The information prompted calls by the family and the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School to free Harris. There was also no physical evidence that linked Harris to the crime.
Harris served 12 years in jail before Cook County prosecutors announced earlier this month that they had dropped all charges against him. Harris walked free from the Cook County jail and went home for the holidays for the first time in over a decade.
“I feel like I’m dreaming, it doesn’t feel real,” Harris’ mom, Nakesha Harris, told WGN9, adding “This is the best Christmas gift ever.”
It’s unclear whether prosecutors will attempt to retry Harris.
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