Family hopeful Missouri murder convict will be released

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Linda Harris had lost hope of ever seeing her daughter out of prison.

A life sentence without the possibility of parole is pretty definitive. But a U.S. Supreme Court decision -- one with which Missouri lawmakers are working to comply -- could mean new hope for prisoners like Harris' daughter who were convicted of first-degree murder as minors.

In 1987, then-17-year-old Lisa D. Harris was convicted of murder in a Greene County, Missouri, courtroom.

The Neosho teenager and several other young people bludgeoned a man to death who they said raped one of their friends. When a jury convicted Lisa Harris of first-degree murder, life without parole was the only sentence available for a juvenile other than death.

For the last 28 years, Lisa Harris has remained behind bars -- that is, except for a five-year stint in the mid-1990s, when she broke out of prison and lived an inconspicuous life in Wyoming.

Now, she is hoping to get out the legal way.

Harris, now 45, is one of more than 80 people in Missouri who could be affected by an ongoing legal drama playing out in the Show Me State.

Missouri is one of a handful of states that has sentencing rules for juvenile murderers that don't comply with federal law.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Miller v. Alabama, while states can sentence minors to life in prison for premeditated murder, they must offer courts a less severe sentencing option.

In Missouri, life in prison is still the only sentence available for juveniles convicted of first-degree murder. Meanwhile, the nation's high court is considering whether it should apply the ruling retroactively, which could mean letting convicted murderers such as Lisa Harris go free.

Linda Harris, the mother of Lisa Harris, said she believes her daughter deserves to be released.

"She is not a bad person," Linda Harris said. "She screwed up, big time, along with plenty of others. I think she could lead a very productive life."

Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, said he would like Missouri to get in line with federal law without letting convicted murderers go free.

Dixon has proposed a bill that would offer courts the option of a second sentence for juvenile murderers. He hopes the bill will be passed during this year's legislative session, which began Wednesday and will run through May.

On the night of Feb. 10, 1987, Lisa Harris was among a handful of teenagers who went to the home of 34-year-old John Hill. One member of the group, another 17-year-old girl, alleged Hill had raped her.

The group drove out to Hill's home to confront him. The teenagers had consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms before heading to Hill's home.

The confrontation between Hill and the teens quickly grew violent. The teenagers began to beat Hill. Some of them had weapons, including a knife and a hammer. Lisa Harris used the hammer to strike Hill in the head repeatedly.

Lisa Harris admitted to striking Hill in the head with a hammer but argued it was in self-defense. Others also testified Hill lunged at her, which set off the violence.

The jury deliberated two hours before convicting her of first-degree murder.