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By
Racquel Bazos [former]
- September 1, 2023
Court
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Victims
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On Aug. 29, a Baltimore man accepted an Alford plea to the 2018 assault of his pregnant girlfriend that led to the death of his unborn son before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn after two trials and a successful appeal.
At first Judge Phinn said she would not accept Rodney Lee Harris, Jr.’s Alford plea after his girlfriend’s victim impact statement to the court, during which she said, “He beat me until I was unrecognizable” and told the court she had to learn how to walk again after the April 4, 2018, incident.
But Harris’ defense attorneys, Latoya Francis-Williams and Sheridan T. Yeary, countered that medical records and trial testimony contradicted the victim’s initial statement identifying Harris as the perpetrator. They acknowledged the victim was attacked, but said it was not their client’s doing.
The prosecutor assigned to the case asked Judge Phinn to accept the Alford plea because it would be too traumatic and difficult for the victim to go through another trial.
Judge Phinn accepted Harris’ Alford plea to the second-degree assault of his girlfriend. Harris, 30, will serve no additional jail time, having been in jail for five years, four months and 25 days beginning on April 5, 2018. Though he is not required to complete any probation, Harris is ordered to stay away from the victim.
According to documents from the Appellate Court of Maryland, a Baltimore Police Department officer followed the victim’s transport to a nearby hospital, where she identified Harris as her attacker. She was six months pregnant at the time.