Harris was an 18-year-old high school senior when he was arrested. The legally blind eyewitness picked Harris out of a police lineup and identified him in court. The eyewitness testified that he was riding his motorized scooter near the gas station when he heard gunshots and saw a person aiming a handgun. He also added that the shooter bumped into him.
Harris’ trial attorney asked the witness if his diabetes affected his vision. He said yes but denied he had vision problems. But the man’s doctor deemed him legally blind nine years before the incident, court records show.
A petrol station attendant also testified that Harris wasn’t the shooter.
The Exoneration Project has helped clear more than 200 people since 2009, including a dozen in Chicago’s Cook County in 2023 alone.
