Anthony Harris

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Confinement until 21
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:	1998
Year Convicted:	1999
Year Cleared:	2000
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Tuscarawas
City of Crime:	New Philadelphia
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Anthony Harris was wrongly convicted in 1999 by a Tuscarawas County, Ohio juvenile court judge of murdering a 5-year-old girl who was a neighbor when he was 12 years old in 1998. His conviction was based on his alleged confession on July 15, 1998. The Ohio Court of Appeals overturned Anthony Harris' conviction on June 7, 2000, ruling that his "confession" should have been suppressed as evidence. Harris was released on June 9 after almost two years in custody. In August 2003 Harris filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named as defendants a number of individuals, Tuscarawas County, and the cities of New Philadelphia and Millersburg. In February 2005 the insurers for three of the officers and the cities of New Philadelphia and Millersburg agreed to pay $1.5 million. Tuscarawas County, which was sued based on the alleged negligent actions of county prosecutor Amanda Spies, appealed the district court judge's refusal to dismiss the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 2008 the appeals court ruled against the county, stating that "any reasonable prosecutor in Spies’s position would have known, after listening to the tape of the confession, that it was involuntary as a matter of law and thus untrustworthy." Harris v. Bornhorst, 513 F.3d 503 (2008) With the trial scheduled to start in weeks, in September 2008 Tuscarawas County agreed to pay Harris $2.2 million to settle the lawsuit. The total paid to Harris was $3.7 million, minus costs and legal fees."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession.
Innocence Proved By:	"The Ohio Court of Appeals overturned Anthony Harris' conviction on June 7, 2000,"
Defendant Aided By:	Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions
Compensation Awarded:	"$3.7 million total, $1.5 million (City of New Philadelphia and City of Millersburg, Feb. 2005) and $2.2 million (Tuscarawas County, Sept. 2008)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	12
Age When Released:	14
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Saving Anthony Harris, The American Lawyer, March 1, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202428581157
Information Source 2:	" Harris v. Bornhorst, 513 F.3d 503 (2008)"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Man wrongfully convicted of murder as a child settles lawsuit for $2.2 million, By Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, October 13, 2008"
Information Location 3:	http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/man_wrongfully_convicted_of_mu.html
Information Source 4:	"U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Spies’ appeal in civil case filed by Anthony Harris, By Renee Brown, The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia, OH), June 19, 2009"
Information Location 4:	http://www.timesreporter.com/archive/x882547285/U-S-Supreme-Court-won-t-hear-Spies-appeal-in-civil-case-filed-by-Anthony-Harris
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
Book About Case:
Book Information:
Book About Case (2):
Book Information (2):
Movie About Case:
Comments About Case:

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Anthony Harris

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Confinement until 21

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

1998

Year Convicted:

1999

Year Cleared:

2000

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Tuscarawas

City of Crime:

New Philadelphia

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession.

Innocence Proved By:

"The Ohio Court of Appeals overturned Anthony Harris' conviction on June 7, 2000,"

Defendant Aided By:

Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions

Compensation Awarded:

"$3.7 million total, $1.5 million (City of New Philadelphia and City of Millersburg, Feb. 2005) and $2.2 million (Tuscarawas County, Sept. 2008)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

12

Age When Released:

14

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Saving Anthony Harris, The American Lawyer, March 1, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202428581157

Information Source 2:

" Harris v. Bornhorst, 513 F.3d 503 (2008)"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Man wrongfully convicted of murder as a child settles lawsuit for $2.2 million, By Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, October 13, 2008"

Information Location 3:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/man_wrongfully_convicted_of_mu.html

Information Source 4:

"U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Spies’ appeal in civil case filed by Anthony Harris, By Renee Brown, The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia, OH), June 19, 2009"

Information Location 4:

http://www.timesreporter.com/archive/x882547285/U-S-Supreme-Court-won-t-hear-Spies-appeal-in-civil-case-filed-by-Anthony-Harris

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: