D.A. will not seek death penalty for dad in hot car death
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds announced Wednesday he will not seek the death penalty for Ross Harris, accused of intentionally leaving his son locked inside a hot car to die.
“After reviewing Georgia’s death penalty statute and considering other factors, the State will not seek the death penalty in this case at this time,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I cannot and will not elaborate at this juncture of the case.”
Two-year-old Cooper Harris died June 18 in a Home Depot office parking lot where his father works. Ross Harris was supposed to take his son to day care on his way to work that day but, after stopping for breakfast at a Chick-fil-A, he strapped Cooper into his car seat and drove instead to his office, leaving the child inside the family’s Hyundai Tucson. Temperatures inside the SUV rose to more than 100 degrees during the day, police say.
Ross Harris is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 17.
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About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
