For the first time in 12 years, Darien Harris will spend Christmas at home with his family.
Harris, 30, walked out of the Cook County Jail about 6:05 p.m. Tuesday holding his mother’s hand and surrounded by his joyful family and friends after prosecutors dropped murder charges in a case against him that had relied heavily on the testimony of a man who was legally blind.
“I’m happy. I finally made it,” Harris told reporters outside the jail. “Twelve and a half years, I made it.”
Harris was convicted of murder in a fatal shooting at a Woodlawn gas station in 2011 and was sentenced to 76 years in prison.
This month, a judge overturned Harris’ conviction, but he remained in jail because prosecutors planned to try him again. On Tuesday, prosecutors said they had decided not to move forward with the case and dropped all charges against Harris.
Dressed in a new blue Nike hoodie and sweatpants, a matching stocking hat, and white Jordan shoes, Harris said he wanted to “chill with my family” Tuesday night and “eat some real food.”
He said his family was partially incarcerated as well, saying they missed out on many opportunities to spend time with him over the years.
“They had to deal with the same thing that I had to deal with — me missing all these Christmases; now I get to finally spend a Christmas with my family,” Harris said. “I get to actually call my family when I feel like it, and they can call me when they feel like it.”
Harris’ mom, Nakesha Harris, told reporters Tuesday night she was “at a loss for words.”
“I’m just so excited,” she said, also telling other families awaiting exoneration of loved ones to “please do not stop fighting,” and for inmates fighting their cases to hold their heads up.
“This is the best Christmas gift ever,” Nakesha Harris said earlier Tuesday after a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
No physical evidence connected Darien Harris to the shooting that killed Rondell Moore and injured Quincy Woulard. The case was largely based on the testimony of Dexter Saffold, who was legally blind and whose vision problems had been documented in court records for years before the shooting.
Police originally identified two other witnesses. One of them identified Harris as the shooter but later recanted his statement in court, saying police pressured him to identify Harris. The other witness, a gas station attendant, said he saw the shooting and recognized the shooter, but it wasn’t Harris.
Supporters of Harris praised State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for taking up Harris’ case and pushing for his exoneration, as well as the exoneration of other wrongfully convicted people. Jimmy Soto, who spent 42 years in prison and was exonerated last week in another case, spoke at a news conference earlier Tuesday and later joined Harris’ family as he walked out of jail.
“I want to pay it forward to help Darien and others,” Soto said. “I know that there are so many more in the system that are wrongfully convicted.”
Referring to Foxx, Harris’ attorney, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, said: “She did the right thing, and we are so grateful for that, but we hope moving forward it won’t take so long. He’s been wrongly incarcerated, missing family, missing holidays, missing his life.”
Harris said he wants to start his own family, as well as attend law school to help others who have been wrongfully incarcerated.
For years, Harris’ family and attorneys have been calling attention to his case, citing insufficient evidence. After the hearing Tuesday, Nakesha Harris hugged Soto as supporters cheered.
“It’s like I’m dreaming, it doesn’t feel real,” Nakesha Harris said.
Harris was a week away from graduating high school when he was arrested for the 2011 murder. He finished his GED while incarcerated, but Harris said his incarceration had a major impact on his mental health and left him feeling “messed up.”
He had thoughts of suicide while in prison, and he still has trouble sleeping and is often paranoid, Harris said.
A few moments after being released from custody, the feeling of freedom hadn’t yet hit Harris.
“It’s going to hit me and when it hits me, I’m going to be happy,” Harris said. “I lost a lot. I lost all my friends. I lost a lot of things. I lost things I can never get back. No amount of money can repay the time that I lost.”
Harris continued: “If you asked me to choose the money or my time back, I’d rather take my time back because I missed some of my best years, but, man, I’m going to have some good years now.”
