"I just want to be free," says man getting new trial after being convicted on testimony of blind witness
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago man recently had his conviction overturned, and was granted a new trial, after being found guilty of murder largely on the testimony of a witness who turned out to be legally blind.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey visited the Cook County Jail to hear firsthand from the man, Darien Harris, in an exclusive interview.
"I was trying to tell the people all this time he's lying. He's lying," Harris said of the star witness against him in his trial, "and here's what came about. He was really lying."
Harris, now 30, was only 18 when he was arrested for the 2011 murder of Rondell Moore. He was convicted at a bench trial in 2014, and was sentenced to 76 years in prison.
Harris said he grew up behind bars.
"I got locked up a week before I was to graduate high school, so I got my GED," he said.
Harris also said while in prison, he grew very accustomed to not being believed.
"Look at the symbol of justice. It's a blindfold with the scale tipped in favor," he said. "That's how we come into the system as Black men. We come into the system blind - not knowing the law, not knowing nothing."
"Justice is supposed to be blind. The eyewitness is not supposed to be blind," added Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, Harris' attorney. "That is not how you are supposed to convict someone. That is not how the justice system is supposed to work."
More than four years ago, Harris wrote to Hickey that he had proof the main witness in his case was lying. The evidence of that was already out in the open.
Hickey interviewed the eyewitness in question, Dexter Saffold, back in May 2019. Saffold agreed to an interview under the condition that we hide his face.
Hickey asked Saffold if he was legally blind. He said he was.
"I got glaucoma due to an eye disease," Saffold replied.
Saffold confirmed to Hickey that the medical records attached to a federal disability lawsuit Saffold filed back in 2003 are authentic. Two separate doctors attested to the fact that Saffold is legally blind - and had been for at least a decade - before the June 2011 shooting at a BP gas station at Marquette Road and Stony Island that ultimately sent Harris to prison for murder.
"They didn't do anything wrong, because they didn't know," Harris said in 2019. "I didn't have to tell nobody about my medical history."
Myerscough-Mueller, who serves as senior staff attorney for the Exoneration Project, explained how big a deal this revelation was.
"The reason that it's such a big deal, I think, is that that was the main evidence against Darien," she said. "There was never physical evidence. There was never any forensics tying him to the crime."
Saffold, standing at a great distance from the scene, told investigators Harris was the man seen firing shots off camera and running out of frame on surveillance video.
Hickey asked Myerscough-Mueller if prosecutors knew Saffold was legally blind.
"I don't know. I don't know what they knew," Myerscough-Mueller said. "They did not turn anything over about that to the defense lawyer."
But Myerscough-Mueller points to a 2018 interview of Saffold, in which he said he told an assistant Cook County state's attorney he had glaucoma. The interview happened well before the 2014 trial.
On the stand at trial, Saffold was asked about his vision. He kept looking over at prosecutors.
Myerscough-Mueller: "The judge said, 'You have to answer,' when he said he didn't have those issues; that he could see. So…"
Hickey: "He lied?"
Myerscough-Mueller: "He lied."
Because of that testimony, Harris was found guilty and sent to prison for 76 years.
"Why did it take so long for me to get back in court, when we had evidence for so long?" Harris said.
After the Cook County State's Attorney's Conviction Integrity unit declined to act, a Cook County judge last week finally granted Harris' request to vacate his conviction.
But instead of letting Harris go, prosecutors are going to retry the case.
Harris was transferred from the Menard Correctional Center downstate to the Cook County Jail while he awaits his new trial. He spends his time studying and reading business books.
"I just want to be free. I just want to go home," he said. "I'm just tired of going through this."
Recently, there has been a flicker of happiness – in the form of Harris' wife, Jessica.
"I'm going to keep a positive attitude that he'll be home soon," Jessica Harris said.
Darien and Jessica Harris officially tied the knot last year while Darien Harris was in the custody of the state.
"It's the only happiness I get," he said.
It is also a glimmer of what life could be outside these walls.
Hickey: "What have you learned in prison?"
Harris: "Patience, faith, fight. Never give up."
Harris has a hearing set for next week, when he will hopefully get more information about the impending trial. We asked the Cook County State's Attorney's office why they are re-trying this case, but they did not give a specific answer.
The State's Attorney's office did provide this statement:
"Due to shifts in witness testimony and available evidence, in the interest of justice and to ensure that the principles of fairness and due process are upheld, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office (CCSAO) did not object to the vacation of the original 2011 case involving Darien Harris. Our office will pursue a new trial based on the facts, evidence, the law, and witness testimony. This decision is not made lightly, but with a profound sense of responsibility towards the integrity of our legal system and the community we serve, and securing justice for the victim. We are committed to a fair and just resolution of this case, guided by the evidence and the law."
