MACON, Ga. — A father from Georgia has been released from prison 10 years after his toddler died in a hot car, a case that made global headlines after prosecutors accused him of murder.
Justin Ross Harris was freed on Sunday — Father’s Day — from the Macon State Prison, Georgia Department of Corrections records show. He began serving his sentence on Dec. 6, 2016.
Harris had moved from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to the Atlanta area for work in 2012. He told police that on the morning of June 18, 2014, he forgot to drop off his 22-month-old son Cooper at day care. Instead, he drove straight to his job as a web developer for The Home Depot and left the child in his car seat, he told investigators.
Cooper died after sitting for about seven hours in the back seat of the Hyundai Tucson SUV outside his father’s office in suburban Atlanta, where temperatures that day reached at least into the high 80s.
At trial, prosecutors put forth a theory that Harris was miserable in his marriage and killed his son so he could be free. They presented evidence of his extramarital sexual activities, including exchanging sexually explicit messages and graphic photos with women and girls and meeting some of them for sex.
Harris was found guilty in November 2016 on eight counts including malice murder. A judge sentenced him to life without parole, as well as 32 more years in prison for other crimes.
But the Georgia Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn his murder and child cruelty convictions in June 2022, saying the jury saw evidence that was “extremely and unfairly prejudicial.”
Prosecutors said at the time that he would not face another trial over Cooper’s death. 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 was no longer available for them to use.
Harris’ lawyers have always maintained that he was a loving father and that the boy’s death was a tragic accident.
Though it dismissed the murder conviction, the state Supreme Court upheld Harris’ convictions on three sex crimes committed against a 16-year-old girl that Harris had not appealed. He continued serving time on those crimes until Sunday, when he was released from prison.
Harris’ case drew an extraordinary amount of attention, making headlines around the world and sparking debates online and on cable news shows. After determining that pretrial publicity had made it too hard to find a fair jury in Cobb County in suburban Atlanta, the presiding judge agreed to relocate the trial to Brunswick on the Georgia coast.
In a tragic and highly publicized case that shocked the nation, a Georgia father has been released from prison a decade after his toddler’s death in a hot car. Justin Ross Harris was convicted of murder in 2016 after his 22-month-old son, Cooper, died in June 2014 when he was left in a sweltering SUV for seven hours while Harris was at work.
The case garnered widespread media attention and sparked heated debates about parenting, responsibility, and the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles. Harris claimed that he forgot to drop his son off at daycare that morning and only realized his mistake when he returned to his car after work. Prosecutors argued that Harris intentionally left his son in the car to die, citing evidence of internet searches on hot car deaths and allegations of infidelity as possible motives.
After a lengthy trial, Harris was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, and cruelty to children. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, in a surprising turn of events, the Georgia Supreme Court recently overturned Harris’ conviction, ruling that the trial court had made errors in allowing certain evidence to be presented to the jury.
As a result of this decision, Harris was released from prison on bond while prosecutors decide whether to retry the case. The news of his release has reignited debates about the justice system, the role of technology in parenting, and the complexities of prosecuting cases involving child deaths.
While some believe that Harris should be retried and held accountable for his son’s tragic death, others argue that he has already served enough time and should be allowed to move on with his life. Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, it is clear that the case of Justin Ross Harris will continue to be a controversial and emotionally charged topic for years to come.
