Jury dismisses first-degree murder
in Lashuan Harris trial

By Brent Begin, Bay City News Service

January 9, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - The jury in the trial of LaShuan Harris ruled out first-degree murder today, which means earlier guilty verdicts for three counts of assault on a child causing death will mandate the stiffest sentence.

The Superior Court jury is still deciding whether Harris, who is accused of murdering her three children by throwing them into the San Francisco Bay, is guilty of second degree murder or manslaughter charges.

In either case, however, the penalties are far less than the sentence for assault on a child causing death, which makes Harris eligible for 25 years to life in prison for each of her three children that died in the cold current on the evening of Oct. 19.

Harris smiled along with attorney Teresa Caffese, chief attorney for the public defender's office, as the court read the jury's decision that the deaths of Harris' three children were not cold-blooded killings.

"As I've said all along, my client is mentally ill," Caffese said.

"She needs help. She needs to be in a hospital."

Once the jury has decided on those final counts, a second phase of the trial will begin in which a jury will decide if Harris should be sent to prison or a mental institution, according to the district attorney's office.

The jury is expected to continue deliberating into the afternoon on the lesser homicide charges. Special circumstances of multiple murder do not apply to second-degree murder charges.

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