A Chicago man whose murder conviction was overturned this month was released from jail after prosecutors on Tuesday dropped all charges against him in a case that relied primarily on the testimony of a legally blind witness.
Darien Harris spent 12 years in prison after he was convicted in the 2011 shooting death of Rondell Moore, 23, the Chicago Tribune reported. He walked free Tuesday night about 6:15 p.m., leaving Cook County Jail, his attorney, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller with the Exoneration Project, said.
"He had a smile plastered on his face," Myerscough-Mueller said. "It's a beautiful day for Darien and his family. He gets to be home for the holidays for the first time in 12 years."
Harris' mother, Nakesha Harris, said earlier Tuesday it feels like she's dreaming.
"It doesn't feel real. I guess once I hold him in my arms, it will be real," she told reporters. "This is the best Christmas gift ever."
The witness was allegedly suffering from advanced glaucoma at the time of the crime and had severely limited visibility, according to the Exoneration Project. Surveillance video from the scene also revealed that the witness was farther away than he initially claimed, the organization said in a Facebook post.
Prosecutors had initially said they would retry Harris but ultimately dropped the charges. The Cook County State’s Attorney's Office said it dropped the charges "upon further review of the totality of the evidence."
"We remain committed to the work of justice in the pursuit of safe and healthy communities," the office said in a statement.
Harris said he was at home watching a basketball game when the shooting occurred. Moore, the victim, had pulled into a local gas station to look at his vehicle when he was shot three times, according to the Tribune. He ran from the gas station and died in a nearby parking lot. A mechanic who was assisting Moore was shot and injured.
Surveillance video showed a man walking from a black Lexus to the area where the shooting occurred and then running away, the newspaper reported. The man's face was not visible in the video.
Harris was arrested days after the murder, convicted and sentenced to 76 years in prison by a now-retired judge.
Myerscough-Mueller said earlier Tuesday that other issues with the case included the alleged getaway driver recanting his statement identifying Harris and alleging that police coerced him into making a false identification, and a gas station worker who allegedly told police that Harris had not committed the crime.
"All of these things came together," the attorney said. "There were never any forensics tying Darien to the case, he never confessed. There was never any reliable evidence against him to begin with. And unfortunately it took 12 years for all that to come to pass and for that to be recognized."