A Chicago man who served 12 years in prison for murder before being exonerated due to the revelation that the key witness was legally blind is now taking legal action against the city and police department.
Darien Harris was convicted in 2014 for a fatal shooting at a South Side gas station in 2011 at the age of 18 and sentenced to 76 years in prison.
He was released in December after it was discovered by the Exoneration Project that the eyewitness had lied about his eyesight, as he had been legally blind with advanced glaucoma nine years prior to identifying Harris in a lineup.
In his lawsuit, 31-year-old Harris alleges that police falsified evidence and coerced witnesses to provide false statements, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Harris expresses the challenges he faces in reintegrating into society without support, stating, “I don’t have any financial help. I’m still (treated like) a felon, so I can’t get a good job. It’s hard for me to get into school. I’ve been so lost.”
“I feel like they took a piece of me that is hard for me to get back,” Harris adds.
At the time of his arrest, Harris was an 18-year-old high school senior, and the legally blind witness identified him as the shooter after hearing gunshots near the gas station.
During the trial, the witness denied having vision problems despite being legally blind for nine years, and a gas station attendant testified that Harris was not the shooter.
The Exoneration Project, an organization advocating for the rights of the wrongfully convicted, has assisted over 200 individuals since its establishment in 2009.
With Post wires.
