Man exonerated for rape, murder gets 52 years for 2006 shooting
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CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
As a 7-year-old, Romarr Gipson was one of two little boys wrongfully charged with the infamous 1998 rape and murder of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, Sun-Times Media is reporting.
Now 21, Gipson will spend most of his adulthood in prison after Cook County Judge Brian K. Flaherty sentenced him Friday to 52 years behind bars for a 2006 shooting at a Citgo gas station in south suburban Calumet Park.
Flaherty in July 2010 found Gipson guilty of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm into a vehicle after a bench trial at the Markham courthouse.
Armed with 9mm handguns, Gipson and his older stepbrother Roman Foreman walked up to a parked car at 123rd and Halsted and began firing, injuring two people inside on June 14, 2006, authorities said.
The double shooting, which was caught on surveillance cameras, could have been worse if Gipson's gun had not jammed, investigators said at the time.
While out on bond in 2008, Gipson was arrested on charges of drug possession, aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest. He was also charged in 2010 with aggravated battery to an officer, according to court records.
Gipson and an 8-year-old boy made national headlines in 1998 when they were charged with raping and murdering Harris, who was found dead in a vacant Englewood lot.
The charges against the boys were dropped, and DNA evidence later linked the crime to Floyd Durr, a South Side man.
Durr pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for murdering and sexually assaulting Harris.
Gipson was exonerated and awarded a $2 million settlement from the City of Chicago for his wrongful arrest.
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After collecting tens of thousands of dollars for themselves on Wednesday, members of the General Assembly plan to kick the can of public employee pension reform down the road for at least one more month.
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