He is a convicted killer who was given a death sentence but now instead of death, Adolph Harris will be a free man. As we reported back in September, Harris' team of lawyers asked Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh to quash his death sentence and replace it with a prison term.
Conteh agreed and this afternoon he sentenced Harris to 20 years in prison. That 20 years includes the 11 years Harris has already spent on death row - so if you do the math, he could be out within the next 8 and a half years. His lawyers say he could be a free man by next year.
Harris' legal team was headed by Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson with human rights attorney Antonette Moore and Edward Fitzgerald from England. They argued that government had 11 years to execute Harris and it didn't. Harris was convicted in 1995 of the 1993 murder of Lavern Orosco. He lost appeals both at the Court of Appeals and at the Privy Council.