Man who spent 33 years in prison for murder he didn't commit sues CPD officers, Cook County prosecutors
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man who spent decades in prison for a murder he did not commit has filed a federal lawsuit against Chicago police officers and Cook County prosecutors, accusing them of framing him.
Lee Harris said he lost 33 years he can't get back, but through his lawsuit he can make sure someone else doesn't lose that kind of time.
"Don't lose hope," Harris said in March, after walking out of the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill after a judge vacated his murder conviction in the slaying of 24-year-old Dana Feitler, killed in the city's Gold Coast in 1989.
Harris had a new message to share six months later as his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against police and prosecutors involved in his case.
"There is hope in justice," he said. "To me, the purpose of this lawsuit is to tell the world that you can't just do what you want to people and they just forget about it. That's a no-no."
The federal lawsuit names as defendants former Chicago Police Detective Richard Zuley – who Harris' attorneys said was later investigated for torture at Guantanamo Bay – several Chicago police officers, a former Cook County Assistant State's attorney, and others.
The lawsuit claims Harris was "repeatedly manipulated" into a "coerced confession," leading to his "wrongful conviction and thirty-three-year incarceration," adding evidence was "fabricated by the Defendants."
The suit says Harris wants to expose the "systemic abuse that allowed his wrongful conviction to happen."
The suit demands a jury trial and unspecified damages. Harris said he's demanding what's right.
"The road to justice may be achieved soon," he said.
A spokesperson for the city's Law Department said city attorneys would review Harris' suit, but said the city won't comment on any pending litigation. A spokesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney's office also declined comment.
Feitler's family could not be reached for comment on Harris' lawsuit, but issued a statement after his release from prison in March:
"Thirty-four years ago, our daughter and sister Dana Feitler, a kind, hard-working and talented 24-year-old Chicagoan was randomly abducted from the lobby of her home and murdered.
"A person with a long criminal record was arrested and confessed to the crime. He was convicted and sent to prison by a jury of his peers for what was to be the rest of his life. We have just been made aware two days ago of his release.
"Not a day has gone by where the memory of Dana has not been present in our family's lives. Since Dana's death, more than 25,000 Chicagoans have been murdered, with 695 lives lost last year alone. At moments when the rights of victims are often forgotten, we stand with the tens of thousands of victims who have lost their lives and with the tens and tens of thousands of family members and friends of the victims who bear the sorrow of their deaths.
"We will not forget and will continue to work to make our streets safe for law-abiding citizens. We are heartbroken that this epidemic of gun violence remains a horrific plague 34 years after we lost our beautiful Dana."
