Breadown podcast: Death in Hot Car: Mistake or Murder?
The first five episodes of Breakdown's second season, all about the Justin Ross Harris case, are available on our special page, ajcbreakdown.com. Or you may download them from the iTunes podcast store or from other podcast providers. Breakdown has received more than 300,000 plays on iTunes alone during the past week. Episode 5, the latest, went live on Monday night.
The latest: Seven more jurors were qualified to serve in the Justin Ross Harris murder trial Wednesday. They are: a woodworker who's a union member; an antique dealer born in France; a software engineer whose mom works at Home Depot; a U.S. Army reservist who lived in Alaska at the time little Cooper Harris died; a management consultant who travels out of state all the time; an Acworth woman who may seek an exemption because she's a full-time student; and an East Cobb woman who is senior director of aquatics at a metro YMCA.
The tally: Thirty-eight prospective jurors have now been qualified. If Judge Mary Staley decides to have four alternate jurors in addition to the 12 chosen to serve, at least 42 potential jurors must be qualified.
The charges: Ross Harris, accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot car to die, is charged with malice murder, two counts of felony murder, cruelty to children in the first and second degree, criminal attempt to commit a felony and dissemination of harmful materials to minors.
Moment of the day: For about 30 minutes, Juror #57 spoke expansively about his thoughts on the case, saying as a father with two young boys, he found it "unfathomable" that Harris forgot Cooper was in the car. A managing partner of a financial planning firm, he said that however the case turns out, it will "pull on your heartstrings. If he didn't do it, he's going to live in hell forever. … He's guilty of stupidity." Even so, Juror #57 said he could put his thoughts aside and be fair. "Sound bites don't convict anyone of a crime," he said. "Being a bad father is not a crime. … I know there are crappy fathers everywhere."
After an initial round of questioning, prosecutor Jesse Evans went into attack mode with a full-fledged cross-examination. Evans raised questions about certifications Juror #57 claimed to have received. Then he produced a document that said Juror #57 had been fired years ago from a national insurance firm after being the subject of a criminal investigation. Evans also noted Juror #57 had only disclosed on his questionnaire a single arrest for marijuana possession in the late 1990s. Why didn’t you disclose an arrest for battery in 1998? Evans wanted to know. And what about the 2004 arrest of you and your wife after police found almost 1 3/4 pounds of marijuana in your home? Juror #57, now clearly uneasy, even sweating, replied that he had been merely “detained,” not arrested for those incidents. He was among those jurors who were struck for cause on Wednesday.
Quote of the day: "I cried that day when I heard the story," said an emotional Juror #74 when asked why she couldn't set aside her opinion that Harris is guilty. "How in the world can you forget your child's in the back seat of your car? Who in the world does that?"
What's next: Jury selection continues Thursday and should wrap up this week.
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