Georgia Supreme Court Overturns Hot Car Death Conviction

The Georgia Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of Ross Harris in connection with the death of his 22-month-old son in 2014.  Cooper Harris died after being left in a hot car for hours in Atlanta.  Ross Harris told authorities he forgot to drop Cooper off at day care that morning, went straight to his job at Home Depot, and left Cooper in his car seat in the car all day.  It was estimated Cooper had been in the car for about 7 hours while temperatures were recorded in the high 80s that day.

Harris was convicted two years later on eight counts, including malice murder in connection with Cooper's death.  He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, in addition to 32 more years for other sexual crimes committed against a teen.

The Georgia Supreme Court overturned Harris' convictions for murder and other crimes related to Cooper's death, because "the jury heard and saw an extensive amount of improperly admitted evidence,"  according to a news release today.

The court has upheld Harris' conviction for the sex crimes committed against a teen.