Charges against Ross Harris create conflicting scenarios

Cold-blooded intent or extreme recklessness – take your pick.

The eight-count indictment against Ross Harris gives jurors a choice of either story line: that the Cobb County dad intentionally killed his son, Cooper, by leaving him in a hot car, or that he was criminally negligent.

It’s not unusual for prosecutors to offer jurors multiple ways to convict, even if the charges rest on conflicting theories of what happened. But legal experts say that strategy can also backfire.