AJC Breakdown
Harris is the subject of the second season of the AJC's podcast series "Breakdown," which will follow the trial's developments.
Eleven more jurors were declared eligible to serve Thursday in the Justin Ross Harris hot-car murder trial — bringing the jury pool total so far to 17 — after an emotional day of questioning.
Almost all of the jurors shared heart-wrenching stories of personal tragedy as lawyers continued the hunt for people who can be fair and impartial.
Juror 20 lost a child at a young age. One man, a landscaper, said three of his children were stillborn. Another is caring for her husband, who suffered a “catastrophic” work-related injury that still requires physical therapy. Two had friends who killed themselves while one lost her father, a police officer killed in the line of duty, when she was just 12 years old.
Here's the latest on the trial, with jury selection continuing Friday and into next week.
The latest: Seventeen prospective jurors have now been added to the pool. If the current pace is maintained jury questioning should be completed by Sept. 23 as planned.
The charges: Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot SUV to die. The former Home Depot web developer is charged with eight felonies, including malice murder, which gives jurors the option of finding that he intentionally left his child in his SUV, and felony murder, which would allow jurors to find Harris guilty of criminal negligence. Harris' attorneys say he left Cooper in the hot car by mistake.
By the numbers: It is expected that 42 jurors must survive initial challenges for cause — meaning they can sit as fair and impartial jurors. After that, both the prosecution and the defense begin exercising their strikes, believed to be 13 for each side, to get down to 12 jurors and four alternates. Six potential jurors were qualified Wednesday.
Two sides at odds: The two sides disagreed on one juror, No. 19, whom the defense wanted struck for cause because they feared she was "too emotional" to serve on the jury and her inclusion could result in a mistrial. The judge sided with the prosecution.
Juror spotlight: Juror 20 seems made for the Harris trial.
- She had an affair, as did the defendant. "When I realize how hurt (my husband) was it broke my heart," said the woman, now remarried to a man she met online.
- She lost a child at a young age.
- Because of cases like this one, she keeps her purse and her children's diaper bag in the back seat of her car. "I kept hearing, 'It can happen to anyone, it can happen to anyone.' … I was very afraid it could happen to me."
- She expressed a longstanding interest in the human condition. "Sometimes we forget that everyone has humanity," she said. Speaking about notorious criminals like Ted Bundy, she said, "I don't believe you can be sane and do certain things. Are they born that way or do circumstances cause that?"
She was questioned for nearly an hour and was chosen even though she testified she didn’t think she could handle looking at pictures of a dead child, as will be required of jurors in the Harris trial.
Noted & quoted: "I'm old school. If it wasn't for my son, I wouldn't have a cell phone," Juror 23, asked about her familiarity with social media.
Washington addresses Harris case, others like it: Bipartisan legislation was introduced Thursday in Washington, D.C. requiring technology that would alert drivers whenever a passenger remains in the rear seat. Already this year 29 children have died in heatstroke incidents after being left inside a locked car. On average, 37 children die each year from vehicular heatstroke.
Follow: You can follow the latest developments in the case on Twitter at @AJCBreakdown. AJC reporters Christian Boone (@reporterJCB) and Bill Rankin (@ajccourts) will be in Brunswick for the duration of the trial.
Harris is also the subject of the second season of the AJC's podcast series "Breakdown," which will follow the trial's developments.
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