Cobb County

Attorney for Cooper Harris’ mother calls Supreme Court decision in hot-car death ‘vindication’

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The former wife of Ross Harris is speaking out, through her attorney, about his conviction being overturned in their son’s death by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Harris is accused of leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, inside a hot car in 2014, killing the boy.

Attorney Lawrence Zimmerman represents Harris’ ex-wife and Cooper’s mother, Leanna Harris Taylor.

“(This is) vindication for the trial lawyers Maddox, Carlos and Brian. I know how hard they tried this case and how the deck was stacked so unfairly against them with the evidence the state tried to present,” Zimmerman said.

Harris told police he forgot to drop his son off at daycare that morning and headed to work without realizing his son was still in the car.

The Supreme Court says the jury heard and saw an extensive amount of improperly admitted evidence.

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“This is vindication for, obviously, Ross Harris and really vindication for my client Leanna and their son Cooper, that his memory shouldn’t be that his father intentionally left him to die in a hot car and we’ve all known that since day one,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman says he spoke with his client after the Supreme Court released its decision Wednesday morning.

“We texted, talked a little bit. It just brings back terrible memories and tragedy really,” Zimmerman said. “She also doesn’t want someone to sit in prison or be convicted of something that she knows they didn’t do intentionally.”

Channel 2′s Michele Newell contacted Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady for an interview about what the next steps are moving forward in the Harris case and what the timeline could look like.

He sent back a statement, saying: “Our office plans to file a motion for reconsideration in this case.”

Harris was also convicted of committing sex crimes against a teen. The Supreme Court upheld that conviction.

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Michele Newell

Michele Newell, WSB-TV

Michele Newell has been part of the WSB-TV family since November 2021. Before moving to Atlanta, Michele worked at TV news stations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Columbus, Ohio and Steubenville, Ohio.