GUILTY IL - Ryan Harris, 11, raped & murdered, Chicago, 28 July 1998

[golfmom]

Father of the young boy has refused to testify as a hostile witness. Judge is fining him $200.00 and having his deposition read.

Unconfirmed reports have estimated numbers between $6 to $10 million to settle this case, but there is no confirmation.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-harris16.html

Emboldened by a unanimous City Council vote ordering a settlement, attorneys for a boy wrongfully accused of murdering Ryan Harris doubled their demand -- from $5 million to $10 million, Mayor Daley disclosed Thursday.

Daley inadvertently let slip the behind-the-scenes effect of the Council's unprecedented mid-trial intrusion into the case while attempting to walk a political tightrope.

................

Just how emotional the case can get was illustrated Thursday when the boy's father took the stand and refused to testify against his own son, as city attorneys had hoped. He was called as a witness for the city to show jurors how his character, history of arrests and an unstable family life contributed to any emotional issues the boy now has -- and not the 1998 arrest for the murder of 11-year-old Ryan.

But when Cook County Judge Randye Kogan swore him in, he said "respectfully speaking, your honor, I'm refusing to testify."

..............

Though city attorney Brian Crowe wanted the father held in contempt, Kogan refused, instead allowing his deposition to be used.

The city's tactics drew a broadside of criticism from the boy's attorneys.

.............

 

[mysteriew]

Days after the Chicago City Council ordered city lawyers to settle a civil suit filed by the family of an 8-year-old boy originally charged with the 1998 murder of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, the judge told jurors to expect closing arguments Monday afternoon.

Sources said Friday the city has offered $5 million to settle the suit, while the boy's lawyers were seeking $8 million. The boy's family is suing the city and two police detectives they accuse of framing him.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509170031sep17,1,998865.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

 

[golfmom]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050916settle,0,1713060.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed

City settles Ryan Harris suit

By Carlos Sadovi
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 19, 2005, 2:22 PM CDT

The City of Chicago today agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a boy who had been wrongfully charged as an 8-year-old with murdering a young girl.

Cook County Judge Randye Kogan announced the settlement in the suit, arising from the 1998 arrests of the boy and a 7-year-old companion in the death of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, to a packed courtroom about 12:45 p.m.

"I have just been informed that the case has been settled," Kogan said. "We have a wonderful system, and it works."

 

[mysteriew]

One of the boy’s attorneys, R. Eugene Pincham, called that figure “inadequate,” but the child’s family said they were OK with it.

Jurors who had been hearing arguments in the civil trial at the Daley Center had mixed reactions. Some said the amount was too much; others said it wasn’t enough.

Convicted sex offender Floyd Durr now awaits trial for her murder.

The family of the other wrongfully charged boy settled their claim against the city for $2 million.

After their unprecedented mid-trial intrusion into the case, aldermen were harshly criticized, but African American aldermen made no apologies for demanding that “the nightmare’’ be brought to a quick conclusion.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/harris19.html

 

[SieSie]

A boy falsely accused of killing an 11-year-old girl seven years ago agreed Monday to settle his lawsuit against the city and two police detectives for $6.2 million, a judge announced.

Earlier this year, the city agreed to a $2 million settlement with the family of another boy also falsely accused in the 1998 murder of Ryan Harris.

The girl's slaying made national headlines after the two boys, then 7 and 8, became the youngest murder suspects in the United States at the time. It took almost a month before the boys were cleared after tests showed semen on the girl's clothing could not have come from them.

Attorneys for the city and the two detectives named in the suit countered that at the time there was reasonable cause to believe the two boys had been involved in the slaying. According to police at the time, they were arrested after they told detectives that they killed the girl for the shiny blue bicycle she was riding.

More at link:LasVegasSun

 

[lostfaith]

I wonder why one boy recieved $6.2 and the other boy only got $2? Just curious.

 

[SewingDeb]

I wonder why one boy recieved $6.2 and the other boy only got $2? Just curious.

Because one family settled without going to court and the other family didn't.

 

[Beyond Belief]

I didn't even know boys that little produced semen.

 

[mysteriew]

A psychologist has filed a lawsuit against one of two boys falsely accused of the 1998 murder of an 11-year-old girl, claiming the boy's family failed to pay her nearly $800,000 for treatment she provided.

Maisha Imani Hamilton filed the lawsuit on Monday in federal court, alleging the family owes her the money for treating the now 15-year-old boy for two years starting the year of Ryan Harris' murder.
http://www.nbc5.com/news/5025286/detail.html

 

[mysteriew]

A judge has denied attorneys' request to move the February trial of a man accused of killing an eleven-year-old Chicago girl out of Cook County.

Floyd Durr's attorneys argued that media coverage of the 1998 rape and murder of Ryan Harris make it impossible for Durr to get a fair trial in Chicago.

But Judge Stanley Sacks denied the request yesterday, saying attorneys may question potential jurors about what they know about the case.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_335082540.html

 

[Usher737]

Suspect Pleads Guilty in 1998 Ill. Slaying
By DON BABWIN
Associated Press Writer


[font=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]CHICAGO - http://kevxml2a.verizon.net/_1_2PPP...&qcat=usnews&ran=630&passqi=50&feed=ap&more=1

[/font]

 

[Marie]

Calumet Park Police Arrest Boy In Shooting


(CBS) CALUMET PARK, Ill. When he was just 7 years old, he was a suspect in the slaying of another child, 11-year-old Ryan Harris.

As CBS 2’s Mai Martinez reports, today, the boy is 15 and under arrest in a double shooting in Calumet Park.

One victim was on life support late Saturday afternoon, while the other was shot in the leg. Police hope to question the second victim on Sunday but are giving him time to recover.

The boy was arrested with an 8-year-old friend in 1998 and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, whose body was found in a backyard in the Englewood neighborhood.

Five weeks later, the juvenile delinquency citations against the boys were dropped when it was proved that the young girl had been sexually molested. DNA tests later implicated a known sexual predator named Floyd Durr, who pleaded guilty to the murder two months ago.

Both boys' families later filed lawsuits against the City of Chicago in regard to their arrests. The younger boy's lawsuit was settled for $2 million before trial in 2004...

 

[Cubby]

Brother of Ryan Harris is dead as a result of gun violence.

2 dead after shooting at Harvey convenience store

So sad for the family, especially mom. Devastating.