Earlier this week, Leanna Harris’ attorney compared her to Richard Jewell, the security guard wrongly implicated in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
Now Harris — whose son died June 18 after being locked in a hot car for seven hours — wants to meet with Jewell’s former lawyer, Lin Wood.
“I have been asked by Lawrence Zimmerman to meet with him and Ms. Harris,” Wood confirmed via email.
Leanna Harris has not been charged with any crime. Her husband, Justin Ross Harris, told police he forgot 22-month-old Cooper was in his SUV when he went to work that day. Police have charged him with felony murder and second degree cruelty to children.
Cobb Police Det. Phil Stoddard testified at Harris’ recent probable cause hearing that his wife showed no outward emotion when told her son was dead.
In a statement released earlier this week, her attorney, Lawrence Zimmerman, complained the media has “fostered a poisonous atmosphere in which Leanna’s every word, action and emotion – or failure to cry in front of a crowd — is scrutinized for some supposed hidden meaning.”
Wood became well known by representing Jewell, suspected by law enforcement of being involved in the 1996 bombing, which led to two deaths. Jewell, who is now deceased, sued The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other news media for reporting that he had become a suspect in the investigation.
The libel suit against the AJC was dismissed by the trial court. The Court of Appeals of Georgia upheld the trial court’s ruling that the newspaper reported accurately.
Wood has represented a number of other high-profile clients, including the parents of JonBenet Ramsey, former Congressman Gary Condit and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
About the Author