This man, who spent 12 years in jail for murder, is suing Chicago police because they found him guilty based on the word of a blind witness.
In December, Darien Harris was freed from a 76-year prison term after The Exoneration Project, a Chicago-based group that fights for the rights of people who have been wrongfully convicted, proved that the eyewitness had advanced glaucoma and had lied about his vision problems.
The eyewitness picked Mr. Harris out of a lineup and identified him in court, even though his doctor had told him he was legally blind nine years before the event.
The witness said he saw Mr. Harris riding a motorized bike near the gas station when he heard gunshots and saw someone pointing a gun. He also said that the shooter ran into him.
The judge found Mr. Harris, who was a student at the time and 18 years old, guilty of the shooting death at a gas station in South Side Chicago in 2011.
Lawyer for Mr. Harris asked the witness if his diabetes affected his vision. The witness said yes, but he denied that he had vision problems.
But papers from the court show that the man had been legally blind for almost ten years before the trial began. A gas station worker also said in court that Mr. Harris was not the shooter.
In April, Mr. Harris sued the government in federal court for civil rights violations, saying that they made up proof and forced witnesses to lie.
He told the Chicago Tribune that he is still having a hard time getting his life back together even though he is 30 years old now.
“I don’t have any money to help me.” Nobody treats me like a free person, so I can’t get a good job. He said, “It’s hard for me to get into school.”
“I’ve been really lost. They took a piece of me that I can’t get back.
Since 2009, the Exoneration Project has helped clear the names of more than 200 people. In 2023 alone, 12 people in Cook County, Chicago were cleared.
