The Sidebar - Harris Trial #3 *VERDICT - GUILTY*

[blue22]

RBBM, it does happen. It is not rare. It happens often enough in GA that May 27, 2014 not even a full month from that date June 18, 2014 when Cooper died. The Gov did the immediate media release of the campaign his office and others had been working on. It is not some trivial matter. It happen, and happens often. Too often.

Just this past Aug a GA father left his 15 month old TWINS in hot car and they died.

Father Indicted in Twins' Hot Car Death
Asa North is facing second-degree murder charges for leaving the girls in a hot car outside a Carrollton apartment complex.
By Tim Darnell (Patch Staff) - September 1, 2016 11:38 am ET http://patch.com/georgia/atlanta/father-indicted-twins-hot-car-death
>>>>>
Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles
by Jan Null, CCM
Department of Meteorology & Climate Science
San Jose State University
Updated October 31, 2016

Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2016: 39
Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2015: 24
Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 1998-present: 700
Average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 37

View attachment 104653

A few dozen a year out of the over 23 million children under 5...is exceedingly rare. Even one is too many, but it is rare. Stranger child abductions are considered very rare, and there are more yearly.

 

[katydid23]

But RANCH, this is what Ross' attorney said:



If all those people came away believing Ross was innocent despite the sexting/texting why would Kilgore think the jury would not do the same? Those are very strong statements from Kilgore. And FWIW, my personal opinion of Ross' guilt came from other evidence, not the sexting; why would it be different for the members of the jury?

I think Kilgore wanted Ross to testify. And I think he would have 'conceded' the texting to minors, admitted it was very wrong and that he needed help for his sexual issues, BUT THAT DID NOT MEAN HE KILLED HIS SON ON PURPOSE. If he could have explained in a sincere, believable way what happened, and tried to convince the jury he had a false memory of dropping off Cooper, and he was nervous about work that day and it distracted him, he may have created enough reasonable doubt...

 

[NCTeacher]

RBBM, it does happen. It is not rare. It happens often enough in GA that May 27, 2014 not even a full month from that date June 18, 2014 when Cooper died. The Gov did the immediate media release of the campaign his office and others had been working on. It is not some trivial matter. It happen, and happens often. Too often.

Just this past Aug a GA father left his 15 month old TWINS in hot car and they died.

Father Indicted in Twins' Hot Car Death
Asa North is facing second-degree murder charges for leaving the girls in a hot car outside a Carrollton apartment complex.
By Tim Darnell (Patch Staff) - September 1, 2016 11:38 am ET http://patch.com/georgia/atlanta/father-indicted-twins-hot-car-death
>>>>>
Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles
by Jan Null, CCM
Department of Meteorology & Climate Science
San Jose State University
Updated October 31, 2016

Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2016: 39
Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2015: 24
Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 1998-present: 700
Average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 37

I really think s/he knew these statistics, we've all seen them throughout this case. "Rare" is a relative term, so while if you compare these results to the number of children killed in car accidents it IS rare, but if you compare it to the number of kids killed on water slides (that is still on my mind), hot care deaths are not rare at all. **CDC reports that over 9,000 were killed in car accidents between 2002 and 2011.

Certainly, it is not a leading cause of deaths among small children. Car accidents, diseases, drownings, poisonings, etc. all exceed hot car deaths by dramatic proportions.

 

[RANCH]

But so far the jurors are saying things about his interview with LE and the trip to the car with the lightbulbs.
Those are also the things they asked to review in court. They did not ask for transcripts or read backs of sexting testimony.

It's my belief that the sexting with minors prejudiced the jury. I doubt that they would admit or acknowledge that in public. JMO

 

[arkansasmimi]

I know this is word salad but my ex is an attorney & he once told me lawyers will always believe their client isn't guilty, but rarely do they believe their client is innocent.

Agree with your husband. I just think this may be one of those rare instances, where they believe he is innocent of murder. JMHO

 

[monkeypants]

RH never said he didn't do it (as in left Cooper in the car). They both have stated RH> accident, and Leanna does not believe he did it on purpose, it was an accident is what I have heard her state.

I meant on purpose. She never states in that entire diatribe that RH didn't do it on purpose.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[tbum]

I wasn't surprised at all by the verdict today. When they first started deliberating, my DH asked me what I thought the jury would decide. I explained to him that I truly believed that the jury would find him guilty of all charges and that I thought they would have been able to come to that conclusion without all of the testimony/evidence about the "double life". I based that on the fact that the jury should have been able to see what they needed to see in order to determine guilt when they viewed the car. Also, I can't imagine that they were able to dismiss Ross's comment to Leanna that he wouldn't bring him back if he could. I mean, who says that? JMO

 

[RANCH]

RH's sexting and cheating had absolutely nothing to do with me believing he was guilty of malice murder.

Those texts did nothing for me other than (from his perspective) attempt to establish an alibi for what contributed to his 'forgetting.'

Your post explains why I feel that the sex charges didn't belong in this murder trial. JMO

 

[arkansasmimi]

Did you see Kilgore's statements to the media after the trial? He looked as if he was getting choked up while talking to the reporters. I am not sure what to make of it all, but I do think that the jury got it right.

Yes, it is at the link I posted. They showed it and then transcribed it. JMHO I think Kilgore was sincere in his feelings. And as I said prior I respect the jury verdict. They did their job. And I like to follow the legal workings of it. Not one single case on WS or these types of sites are anything less than heartbreaking by the very nature of it. Next phase will be interesting and then the Appeals.. has nothing to do with personal feelings for anyone else. Cooper is dead, and many are hurting and have been. No winners here for sure. JMHO.

 

[Hatfield]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter how RH's attorney feel about his guilt or innocence. The Jury found RH Guilty of all 8 charges. I believe the jury thoroughly looked at all of the evidence not just part of it. imho

Agree.

I believe the jury looked at this case more or less like I did. The totality of evidence was enough to convince them that he did it on purpose. No one piece by itself is enough to realize that but as you start adding up the small pieces that dont make sense then it becomes a pretty convincing case.

His demeanor when LE got there I believe was his attempt to throw off LE. An attempt to shock LE by cursing at them with the motive to make it look like he was very upset. But the reality is most people in that situation would be sobbing and cursing at themselves not at LE or others.

Little things like that begin to add up in this case. The checking at lunch time, the movie plans., the leaving work to find an audience in the parking lot 7 miles away before he pulled over, his attitude in court, The list gets rather long when its all added up together.

JMO
I believe the jury got it right.

 

[Paige SC]

Agree with your husband. I just think this may be one of those rare instances, where they believe he is innocent of murder. JMHO

I'll believe it if he states 'I believe my client is innocent, I believe in his innocence.'

I've only witnessed that three times in all the years following trials, convictions and appeals. The accused were in fact innocent and their attorneys dedicated their lives to the cause. The case of Marty Tankleff comes to mind. A good documentary to watch, btw

 

[arkansasmimi]

But so far the jurors are saying things about his interview with LE and the trip to the car with the lightbulbs.
Those are also the things they asked to review in court. They did not ask for transcripts or read backs of sexting testimony.

So far, we only heard what Boring said they said. On the transcripts, they had all those in the jury room. They just didnt have the videos or the SUV Wonder how many had bets on wanting to see it again lol

 

[RANCH]

I wasn't surprised at all by the verdict today. When they first started deliberating, my DH asked me what I thought the jury would decide. I explained to him that I truly believed that the jury would find him guilty of all charges and that I thought they would have been able to come to that conclusion without all of the testimony/evidence about the "double life". I based that on the fact that the jury should have been able to see what they needed to see in order to determine guilt when they viewed the car. Also, I can't imagine that they were able to dismiss Ross's comment to Leanna that he wouldn't bring him back if he could. I mean, who says that? JMO

BBM

I agree that when the jury viewed the car they could tell that it would be possible to see Cooper in the backseat. That's because they would be concentrating on where Cooper was sitting. But did RH?

JMO

 

[arkansasmimi]

A few dozen a year out of the over 23 million children under 5...is exceedingly rare. Even one is too many, but it is rare. Stranger child abductions are considered very rare, and there are more yearly.

JMHO the states where they have them often probably disagree with you. JMHO

 

[katydid23]

IN trying to learn about Dr Diamond, I read up on all the cases of FBS, on the kidsandcars.com website. Most of the parents were never charged, some were charged and then charges dropped, some were charged with Criminal Negligence. Of the 5 that were, 4 found NOT GUILTY---one was found GUILTY on lesser charges, but given probation, no jail.

One of the consistent things in their stories, was that each parent was totally, completely, inconsolable at the scene. There was no way they could even be interviewed for awhile because they were so absolutely overwhelmed with grief, tears, lack of response. A few went to the hospital for treatment, after begging to die themselves. One father tried to take an officers gun so he could shoot himself.

Some were allowed to go home and return for interviews later. A few were taken to the police station but were so utterly broken down, crying so hard, devoid of the ability to communicate, that they were charged but allowed to bond out.

I don't think any of them made small talk or sat cool and collected answering questions in a matter of fact way in the first few hours.

 

[katydid23]

BBM

I agree that when the jury viewed the car they could tell that it would be possible to see Cooper in the backseat. That's because they would be concentrating on where Cooper was sitting. But did RH?

JMO

If he didn't, then that is negligence, imo. He was inn charge of caring for a vulnerable toddler. He should have been looking at his car seat. Especially since he knew very well the dangers of hot car deaths.

 

[NCTeacher]

JMHO the states where they have them often probably disagree with you. JMHO

I live in a state with several dozen hot car deaths on that map. It is by no means considered common.

 

[dizzychick]

I watched most of the trial. Even kept some notes lol the problem I have is it is in a way the perfect crime in that you cannot see inside his head and heart to prove he knew Cooper was in his car seat. I have forgotten many things but not a child thank the lord and im old enough to remember it happening in Dallas in the mid 80's and no charges were ever filed. Cops just said the parent was over worked, stressed, lack of sleep etc and called it an accident.

We know by the cell phone usage Ross too had to be stressed from lack of sleep and as repulsive as it is that he was sexting constantly, this shows me he has a very severe sex addiction that took over his mind and body. Christains will just call it sin but a shrink would call it a mental illness. I note he was receiving testosterone treatments for low sperm count. I am wondering what that did to his sex drive and even if he stopped the treatment it could have long lasting risidual effects. Please understand I am not defending the guy by any means im just looking at this case with no emotion and trying to reason how it happened.

I saw the cops lie like a dog in this case. We all were told by the media he had searched child free, he did not. I even heard Leanna searched it on her puter, not true. they tweaked the facts a little to their advantage.

I will not be shocked to see some of these charges tossed on appeal and rightfully so. Not for Ross' sake but for our sake as a state/nation. We cannot let cops lie and convict people w/o evidence. As much as I hate Casey Anthony I am beginning to see the light as to our justice system and how it should work.

I feel so bad for little Cooper I wish someone had heard him crying cause you know he did at least for a short while before he was overcome with heat. Poor baby. I am angry at Ross too but I do not know if he really did mean to leave him, do you? If you do please tell me what proves he did this on purpose....

As for the sexting, that one girl originally said she was 18 but she really was 15, he kept on I know I know for that he should be punished but a life sentence is just way too harsh.

 

[krkrjx]

Just out of curiosity, since a few here believe the sexting to be irrelevant, if a parent is in a bar drinking all day, or holed up doing drugs for hours as their child perished in a hot car--would you not want such facts to be included as evidence at trial?

I'm not understanding why this dad's actions during the time his son was dying should have been ignored. If the sexting had happened on a different day I would believe it to be irrelevant, but that's not what happened here.

 

[RANCH]

If he didn't, then that is negligence, imo. He was inn charge of caring for a vulnerable toddler. He should have been looking at his car seat. Especially since he knew very well the dangers of hot car deaths.

Of course RH was negligent and that's why Cooper died. I don't care if he was well aware of hot car deaths or not. Common sense tells you to not leave a 2 year old child in a car. JMO