Rankins and Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder and were sentenced to the maximum term of 5 years. Rankins served an additional 9 years for sexually assaulting another inmate during a gang attack. After their initial releases, both men returned to prison repeatedly for other offenses. Derrick Lemon, Morse's older brother who struggled to save Eric in the moments before he was dropped, received a lawsuit settlement in Eric's death for more than $1 million from the Chicago Housing Authority and a private management company. Lemon himself is now currently serving a 71-year murder sentence for the fatal shooting of his aunt's boyfriend at a barbecue in 2006.
Rankins and Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder and were sentenced to the maximum term of 5 years. Rankins served an additional 9 years for sexually assaulting another inmate during a gang attack. After their initial releases, both men returned to prison repeatedly for other offenses. Derrick Lemon, Morse's older brother who struggled to save Eric in the moments before he was dropped, received a lawsuit settlement in Eric's death for more than $1 million from the Chicago Housing Authority and a private management company. Lemon himself is now currently serving a 71-year murder sentence for the fatal shooting of his aunt's boyfriend at a barbecue in 2006.