NORFOLK
As he sat in the maximum security section of Norfolk City Jail, Shaka Harrell worried about what would happen to him if no DNA samples could be found.
"I could have gone away to the penitentiary for life," he said.
Two months ago, the 16-year-old was jailed on rape, sodomy and abduction charges - accused by two teenage girls of attacking them as they walked to a school bus stop on Jan. 9 in Fairmount Park.
On Friday, a day after DNA testing led to his release, Harrell said he got through the ordeal by holding fast to the knowledge that he was innocent.
"I just had to deal with it," he said. "When you're in there, you're in there."
First thing after he was freed, Harrell said, he got something to eat from the 7-Eleven. Then, he had a little party at home - including his 2-year-old pit bull, Stone - to celebrate his freedom.
Harrell said he was treated well in jail. A judge had ruled that he could be tried as an adult, and he was housed in a cell with up to 24 other inmates. He talked to a few, but for the most part people didn't know his name.
"They were worried about themselves," he said.
A state forensics lab informed Norfolk prosecutors Thursday that DNA evidence taken from the crime scene did not match Harrell, and he was released within hours. Harrell's lawyer, Kenneth Singleton, said he believed his client was innocent.
"They're going to have DNA," Singleton said he told Harrell.
"Good," Singleton said Harrell replied.
"It makes you wonder about people sitting in jail now based on someone's word..." Singleton said. "I'm glad we're not sitting here 15 years from now talking about this."
Singleton questioned the method police detectives used when asking the girls to pick out their attacker, who had worn a T-shirt wrapped over his face, showing only his eyes. One girl said she saw the assailant's face when he moved the shirt to kiss her. Neither of the girls immediately identified Harrell, although one girl knew him from school.
While police were at the scene, Singleton said, a man stopped to ask what was going on. When he was told, Singleton said, the man replied, "I bet it was Shaka." Harrell had been seen in the area that day, a prosecutor said.
The girls pointed out Harrell after police showed them a high school yearbook. It was opened to a page with Harrell's picture, Singleton said.
"It was one of the worst examples of suggestive identification," Singleton said. "It was avoidable if they had just followed proper procedures."
Singleton said police should have found a picture of Harrell and located pictures of people with similar features to place in a lineup.
Police spokesman Officer Chris Amos said detectives had no other pictures of Harrell - he was a juvenile with no criminal record. The police mug shot database holds a particular type of photo, usually a suspect against a cinder block background, he said. Harrell's yearbook picture would have stood out when compared with standard police photos, he said.
"It's important to note - you take a positive identification, whether by a victim or a witness, and this carries a lot of weight," Amos said. "You take the totality of that, and that's what the investigators move on."
Some argue that eyewitness identifications should not carry that much weight. Shawn Armbrust is the executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, an organization that aims to prevent and correct wrongful convict ions and imprison ments. Several recent cases in which long-imprisoned men were exonerated by DNA started with convictions based on eyewitness identifications.
"It's counterintuitive, but eyewitness confidence has no relationship to accuracy," Armbrust said. Psychological research has showed that humans' memory for faces "is not as good as we think it is."
Harrell said he bears no grudge against the girls who identified him. He does worry what their accusations did to his reputation.
"Those girls were so close to people in that school... " he said. "I don't feel safe in my neighborhood."
Loretta Riddick lives in the 2900 block of Verdun Ave., where the assault occurred. She said her street is usually safe, but she worries about her own teenage daughter, knowing that the person who assaulted the two girls has not been caught.
"I'm relieved... that an innocent child did not go to jail," she said.
Amos stressed that the girls were victims of a brutal attack. It was similar to one that happened about a week before in the 3900 block of Robin Hood Road, Amos said. In both cases, the assailant hid his face, implied he had a weapon, took his victims to a secluded location and sexually assaulted them.
"Your heart breaks for them," Amos said.
Amos said detectives are working the case again, and are "more determined than ever" to find the attacker.
"We are convinced there's not been a vacuum," Amos said. "Whoever did it said something to somebody."
Amos asked that anyone with information call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com
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Unethical
I personally believe this young man should have been remanded to his parents' custody and not to a maximum security prison. In sending him to a maximum security prison, the system had alread tried and condemned him for a crime based on purely circumstantial evidence. The judge and prosecutor should both be ashamed of themselves for allowing this young man's life to be ruined at such a young age. He is definitely owed a formal apology from these people and his accusers and this incident should be completely removed from his records. He should not have to bear the burden of explaining himself over and over to future employers and defend himself against these falsehoods...
gotta love it....
gotta love how people just say "Move on".....go ahead and just sweep it under the rug......even though he lost 2 months, probably lost his job, and his name was tarnished, all this guy needs is a "We're SOOOOO sorry, buddy...now don't you go get in no more trouble, ya hear me boy???" i give it about a week, and this story will bore all of the readers, and situations will go on like this without any type of work to prevent this from happening to another person.....its a good thing he wasn't in VA Beach jail.....they probably would have given him life, without any evidence....smh
Guilty Until Proven Innocent, its more than just a catch phrase....It's reality....
Sue the victims?
Great idea (NOT)!! With that mindset, I am sure you think that they "asked for it". I feel for these girls, they were taken off the street, viciously assaulted physically, and psychologically traumatized. After this brutal violation, they were questioned, poked, prodded, made to relive each disgusting, traumatic moment and then asked to relive it again by looking at potential suspects.
If anyone is at fault, it is our flawed system. To say that a victim should be sued for being pressured to make an identification is reprehensible. Don't like our current system? Lobby congress to change it, maybe with tougher laws, sexual offenders will think twice.
Glad he's out!
If your "loved one" identified someone as the person who attacked, robbed, raped them etc., and the police didn't arrest the identified suspect, especially after 2 victims identified the "POSSIBLE" suspect, YOU'D be so PEE'd off at the PD and anyone not taking action, you'd probably be calling Lowell "The Hammer" Stanley at home! Eye Witness ID is weak many times however it still prevails in identifying suspects and solving crimes! This case is sad for the innocent juvenile locked up for 2 months but as an earlier post mentioned, "move forward" and don't look back. Thank goodness for DNA! Many an innocent sat in jail for 10, 15 plus years and are just now being freed by DNA science!
This Is Very Sad
This young man should have never been put into a maximum security jail. The courts can do anything that they want to. I hope and pray that this doesn't affect him for the rest of his life. Keep holding your head up young man.
Norfolk Four
When are the Norfolk Four going to be released? They were also exonerated by the DNA test.
Whatever it takes
Whatever it takes to restore Shaka Harrell's reputation the City of Norfolk needs to do it now, and the Chief of Police needs to be looking into the questioning and arrest records of the officers who showed those girs Mr. Harrell's photo from a yearbook. This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened. I remember this story because there was another rape close by and it was thought Mr. Harrell may have been involved in that one also. Something is wrong with our system, this kind of behavior should never happen, and certainly never again. In the name of Shaka Harrell, I hope all of you will be writing City Hall to find some answers on just what is going on. I cannot even imagine what Mr. Harrell must have endured locked up in jail for 2 months. It baffles the mind to even think about it.
DNA saves the day for arrested man
This is another good argument against capital punishment. All too many peple have been arrested, tried, convicted and executed on the say-so of another person and then later -- too late -- exonerated by DNA evidence.
Unfortuately this person still will carry an arrest record. Here we have a kid who never even had a juvenile record, and now he's stuck with a rape arrest, something that will come up every time he has some interaction with "the system" -- indefinitely.
I don't believe in lawsuits, etc., and apparently neither does he, but I do think an apoloogy is in order -- face to face.
Rush to Judgement ( DA won't to close cases ) Line Ups Fixed.
I do feel the local DA and police are in a hurry to solve cases and promote their career. Sometimes holding back evidence or pursuing a case which is at best hear say. Eye wittnes line ups have proven to be highly inaccurate. While good old fashion evidence , even circumstantial leads to better conclusions. We must not forget innocent until proven guilty. This kid deserves an apology from the Mayor and local law enforcement officals. Thank god for science.
Innocence
I'm sorry to inform you all, there are & have always been, innocent people in jail & prison. Some innocent ones have even been executed. I realize that some find this hard to believe. The only person absolutely sure on eyewitness IDs is the perpetrator. Contrary to many beliefs, DNA testing can only absolutely prove a person did not commit a crime. DNA testing can prove with a little over 99 percent accuracy, the probability of one's guilt. This is amazingly accurate. However, the larger the pool of probable suspects, the larger possibility of partial matches, therefore, the greater possibility of an innocent being charged & convicted.
Ira Tateu
?
Forward
Go forward young man and don't get stuck in the past.
Saved by DNA Testing
It's a great thing this young man was exonerated. However, he had already spent too long in jail. Will the city make up for time missed from school,(so he wont have to repeat a grade); time away from family & friends, or, perhaps, lost income from a part time job? Will the city do all that's possible to restore this young man's reputation? Too many persons are quick to believe a charged individual is guilty. Too many of these same persons are less than eager to believe a charged person's innocence, even when proved by DNA testing.
During my years in law enforcement, I personally found eyewitness IDs by victims of crime, to be pretty much unreliable. This especially was true when victims & victimizers were of different age, ethnic & racial groups.
This is one more piece of reality death sentence & so-called " tough on crime" proponents need to consider. I shudder with the knowledge of innocent persons already executed or imprisoned for life, & now deceased.
Sue the girls?
Ok, that is about the most ignorant comment I have ever heard. Those girls have already been victimized. Not only that, from the way it sounds they were almost persuaded to choose him from the lineup. I am glad that the DNA evidence saved this kid from an unjust punishment, and I am saddened more by the fact the real criminal is still out on the street and these girls have no justice. As you read, he holds no grudge against these girls, probably because he has common sense about him knowing that they have been traumatized in a way most people cannot understand. My hats off to him! Some people need to get ahold of themselves before posting stupid comments such as these.
Cleared by DNA
DNA is proving to be more and more a valuable tool everyday.Good luck to you Mr. Harrell live life to its fullest and dont look back.
"Guilty UNTIL proven Innocent !"
When I review the LEGAL Justice System (here in VA), there's more corrupt law enforcement, Judges, and Lawyers.......they're quick to point the finger "Guilty" without all the facts. The wrongfully accused NOW can sue the parent of these girls for wrongful imprisonment and I hope his lawyer SLAPS the heavy lawsuit against these girls parents because PARENTS are responsible for their children. I don't care if they never collect (1) penny from the accuser but to $ue them for $50,000 would financially CRIPPLE them and they won't be able to do ANYTHING until the suit is paid off. The Parents will bear that burden to teach their teenage daughters to KNOW right from wrong and prevent FALSE accusation. The Legal Justice System is JUST as much at fault. You cannot imprison someone just by (2) "witnesses" without DNA evidence in this case. DNA proved fact....Shaka Harrell goes free. Let's put the "$" amount on (2) months prison + damages.....how does $200,000 sound? Fair enough for me. Case Dismissed!
AJG8ter
Ps. I can walk into a magistrates office this morning wit ha fabricated story and have you arrested. After it is dismissed, it will stay on your record as an arrest. It seems in Chesapeake I can call in as a CI and say you have marijuana in your house with no proof and get your home stormed by a swat team. How are you feeling now?
Ohh ooh, pick me!
"How do the prosecutors know that the girls weren't lying? Or weren't really sure?"
Because most prosecutors do not care. The majority will spend their career on the prosecuting side. Their numbers assist them in reaching future goals. Do some research. You will see that whenever a prosecutor runs for office, they tout their conviction numbers. Whenever their office is judged to be competent it is done by their percentage of convictions. So if 50% of the people that were charged ended up innocent, it would in fact make the prosecutor appear incompetent. The percentage they aim for is a convictioon rate in the high 90's.
Don't kid yourselves. Of course it does not take 2 months to free someone on DNA. There are people dying in prson today tha did nothing. The justice system is a business today. Your lack of guilt is only a small concern to a prosecutor who wants to be deemed competent or exceptional. This kid just messed up somebodies numbers.
As for paying the attorney fees of the not guilty; that wouldn't be profitable now would it?
Happens more often than you think
50% of the people in our jails (not prisons) are unconvicted--awaiting court hearings, trials, etc. Many of them are there due to eyewitness identification and almost all of them are poor. The state does provide an attorney to the indigent but they are SO overloaded, overworked, and underpaid that they spend very little time on each case. CSI has convinced everyone that DNA is collected at every scene and that labs can be completed overnight. This is not true. A special investigator has to be on the scene to collect DNA and it is expensive. He is lucky that they collected it at all. I think those of you with the attitude of "lock em up and throw away the key" need to realize that we are innocent until proven guilty, and many times the "proof" is based on hearsay and eyewitness id. Our system is broken, and this young man is lucky.
Disturbing
I find it completely disturbing that one could go to jail/prison with no questions asked, just based on "he said, she said". They put him in jail just because the girls said "it was him". How do the prosecutors know that the girls weren't lying? Or weren't really sure? It sickens me to think that there are hundreds possibility thousands of other cases similar to the ones like this where an innocent person is in jail or prison just because of what the victim said. There needs to be a better way. What happened if there was no DNA sample for them to test, this young man would have been put away for good! Unacceptable. I believe he deserves some type recourse, and legal action toward the city or these girls. It's unfortunate that they were attacked, but if they really weren't sure who attacked them, they don't need to falsely accuse someone. I hope this gentlemen can take something positive out of this horrible experience, and move on with a happy life.