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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
70 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
7.75 |
Year Crime: |
2005 |
Year Convicted: |
2005 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
Cook |
City of Crime: |
Chicago |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Nicole Harris was wrongly convicted on October 26, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois of the murdering her 4-year-old son by strangling him in May 2005. She was convicted primarily on the evidence of her recanted confession. After her conviction by a jury Harris was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Her conviction and sentence were upheld on direct appeal. She filed a state habeas petition that was denied, and she then filed a federal habeas petition that was also denied by a U.S. District Court judge. Harris appealed. Harris' conviction was overturned by the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that on October 18, 2012 granted her federal habeas petition and ordered her retrial on the basis the trial judge had prejudicially excluded the exculpatory testimony of her 6-year-old son, that his younger brother had accidentally strangled himself himself with an elastic band from a fitted sheet, while playing Spiderman in his bunk bed. The State opposed her release on bail until the U.S. Supreme Court decided whether it would review the Seventh Circuit's ruling. On February 13, 2013 the 7th Circuit ordered Harris' release on February 25, 2013 on her own recognizance under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office because it didn't think the State had sufficient legal grounds to prevail in an appeal. On June 17, 2013 Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez issued a written statement that Harris would not be retried. Nicole Harris was incarcerated from the time of her arrest in May 2005 until her release in Feb. 2013 - seven years and nine months. The Cook Harris was awarded a certificate of innocence by Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. in January 2014. Harris was awarded wrongful imprisonment compensation of $185,000 by the State of Illinois. On June 12, 2014 Harris filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Chicago PD and several detectives involved in her case. Her lawsuit alleged that her constitutional rights were violated by her allegation that her prosecution was largely based on a false and fabricated confession elicited by police officers during 30 hours of intermittent interrogation. On November 17, 2017 a federal court jury decided against Harris, in ruling that Chicago Police officers did not frame her when she was charged with murdering her son." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"False confession evidence and the trial judge's exclusion of the exculpatory testimony of Nicole Harris' 6-year-old son that his younger brother had accidentally strangled himself himself with an elastic band from a fitted sheet, while playing Spiderman in his bunk bed.On June 18, 2013 Harris was released when the charges against her were dismissed when the Cook C" |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On June 17, 2013 Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez issued a written statement that Harris would not be retried." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$185,000 (State of Illinois, 2014)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
31 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Mother convicted of strangling 4-year-old son has conviction overturned, By Kim Janssen (Federal Courts Reporter), Chicago Sun Times, October 19, 2012" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/15842329-418/mother-convicted-of-strangling-4-year-old-son-has-conviction-overturned.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Jurors rule Chicago cops did not frame woman in son’s death, By Mitchell Armentrout and Jon Seidel, Chicago Sun-Times, November 17, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/jury-rule-that-chicago-cops-did-not-frame-woman-in-sons-death/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Harris v. Thompson, 698 F.3d 609, No. 12-1088 (7th Cir. 2012) (Granting federal habeas and ordering new trial.)" |
Information Location 3: |
https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/12-1088/12-1088-2012-10-18.pdf?ts=1411042346 |
Information Source 4: |
"Harris v. Thompson, No. 12-1088 (7th Cir. 2013) (Ordering release on personal recognizance bond.)" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.stevenaverycase.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Dassey-Exhibit-1-Harris-v-Thompson.pdf |
Information Source 5: |
"Harris v. City Of Chicago et al, No. 1:2014cv04391 (N.D. Ill.) (Docket for 42 USC 1983 federal civil rights lawsuit filed on June 12, 2014)" |
Information Location 5: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org