A Chicago man who was convicted of murder 10 years ago based on the testimony of a blind witness is suing the city and police department.
Darien Harris was convicted in 2014 for his role in a deadly shooting at a South Side gas station in 2011. Harris was released in December, having served 12 years of a 76-year sentence, after the Exoneration Project revealed that the witness had advanced glaucoma and had faked vision problems.
Harris was 30 when he was released from prison.
Harris, who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April alleging police fabricated evidence and coerced witnesses into making false statements, told the Chicago Tribune that he is still struggling to get his life back on track.
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Darien Harris, who was convicted of murder 10 years ago based on the testimony of a legally blind eyewitness, is suing the city of Chicago and its police department. (Chicago Tribune via Getty Images)
“I have no financial support whatsoever. I can’t get a good job because I’m still being treated like a felon,” he said. “It’s hard to go to school. I feel so lost. … I feel like they took something from me that’s hard to get back.”
Harris, who was an 18-year-old high school senior at the time of his arrest, was selected during a police interview and identified in court by a blind witness.
A witness said he was riding an electric scooter near a gas station when he heard gunfire and saw someone pointing a handgun, then the gunman ran into him.
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Darien Harris had served 12 years of a 76-year sentence when he was released in December last year. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Harris’ lawyer asked the witness if diabetes had affected his eyesight. The witness answered “yes,” but claimed he had no problems with his eyesight. According to court records, the witness’ doctor had diagnosed him as legally blind nine years before the incident.
A gas station attendant also testified in court that Harris was not the shooter.
The Exoneration Project has helped exonerate more than 200 people since 2009, with 12 exonerations scheduled for 2023 alone in Cook County, where Chicago is located.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
