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    Man sentenced to 76 years in prison to be retried after key witness revealed to be blind

    Home> News> Crime

    Published 11:31 7 Dec 2023 GMT

    Man sentenced to 76 years in prison to be retried after key witness revealed to be blind

    His defence was not aware that the witness was legally blind at the time of the trial

    Kit Roberts

    Kit Roberts

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    Featured Image Credit: Illinois Department of Corrections / CBS New Chicago

    Topics: News, US News, Crime, Chicago

    Kit Roberts
    Kit Roberts

    Kit joined UNILAD in 2023 as a community journalist. They have previously worked for StokeonTrentLive, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Star.

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    A 30-year-old man has had his murder conviction quashed and is being retried after new evidence about his case emerged.

    Darien Harris was just 18 years old when he was arrested for the murder of Rondell Moore in 2011.

    Three years later in 2014, he was convicted following a trial, and handed a 76 year prison sentence.

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    But now after serving nearly ten years in prison, effectively his entire adult life following his arrest, Harris has had his conviction quashed after it turned out a key witness was legally blind.

    This comes after the emergence of new evidence which his defence was not aware of at his trial.

    Nonetheless, prosecutors in Cook County have said that although his conviction has been quashed, they still intend to retry Harris.

    While Harris' attorney Lauren Myerscough-Mueller has said they are happy with the conviction being quashed, they are 'surprised' that a retrial has been ordered.

    Darien Harris has had his conviction quashed.
    CBS

    Myerscough-Mueller said: "There's a ton of medical evidence to support that. He couldn't see what he said he saw.

    "There's significant evidence of Darien's innocence that makes it so that we're surprised that the state is retrying the case."

    The shooting happened in June 2011 at a BP gas station. The only video from the incident shows a shooter, who is difficult to make out, arrive in a car and run across the camera's view before firing shots out of view.

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    Dexter Saffold was the main prosecution witness, and picked out Harris from a line-up.

    However, a gas station attendant identified somebody else as the shooter, alongside other witnesses.

    Saffold has stood by his evidence and claimed that he was not obliged to disclose his medical records.

    CCTV footage from the murder in 2011.
    CBS

    He said: "They didn't do anything wrong because they didn't know. I didn't have to tell nobody about my medical history."

    Explaining his condition, he said: "I got glaucoma due to an eye disease."

    Myserscough-Mueller has also claimed that police intimidated another witness in the case.

    This was the driver of the car that dropped off the gunman. The driver initially identified Harris as the shooter, but later recanted the evidence at trial claiming that the police had threatened his newborn baby.

    Harris' family also claim that he was at home watching the NBA Finals at the time of the shooting.

    Despite all this, prosecutors are still not letting Harris go, but have instead ordered a retrial.

    Harris' wife Jessica told CBS 2: "I thought I would have him home for the holidays, so it is in a way disappointing to see that they're retying him.

    "But I'm going to keep a positive attitude that he'll be home soon."

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