MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) – A Georgia man convicted of murder after his toddler son died in a hot SUV has been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jurors last month convicted Justin Ross Harris of malice murder and other charges in the June 2014 death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. The malice murder conviction means they believed Harris left the young boy to die on purpose.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark sentenced the 36-year-old Harris at a hearing Monday.
Prosecutors said at trial that Harris intentionally killed his son to escape the responsibilities of family life. Defense attorneys said the boy’s death was an accident.
Harris moved from Alabama to Georgia for work in 2012.
