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Clara Guilty!

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by TheHorns, Feb 13, 2003.

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  1. TheHorns

    TheHorns Member

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    Verdict is in.
     
  2. Buck Turgidson

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    Didn't pay too much attention to Clutch's announcement, did we?
     
  3. Free Agent

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    Clara Harris convicted of murder

    Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

    Clara Harris is accused of running over her husband after catching him with his former receptionist at a hotel.

    Jurors convicted Clara Harris of murder today for running over her husband outside a Clear Lake-area hotel on July 24 after finding him with his mistress.

    Harris faces the possibility of five years to life in prison, but could receive a much lighter sentence. If jurors next find it was a crime of "sudden passion," the punishment could be reduced to two to 20 years in prison. Probation is possible on any sentence less than 10 years.

    Jurors in the three-week-long trial deliberated for around eight hours on their four options: acquitting the 45-year-old mother of all charges; convicting her of murder; convicting her of manslaughter; or convicting her of criminally negligent homicide.

    The two lesser charges were provided as options Wednesday morning when state District Judge Carol G. Davies read the jury her charge, an explanation of the law as it applies to this case.

    The lesser charges would have meant as little as 180 days in jail or as much as 20 years in prison.

    Clara Harris' intent on July 24 is at the heart of the case.

    In her closing arguments, Prosecutor Mia Magness acknowledged that some jurors' hearts may go out to Harris, who was lied to and cheated on. Sympathy, however, is irrelevant to deciding guilt, she said.

    "You can't help but feel sympathy," she said, "But you know? The solution is to get a divorce. David's bad judgment, his bad choices, shouldn't result in his death. Clara Harris should have simply sought a divorce.

    "She should do like every other woman in Harris County and take him to the cleaners. Get his house, car kids - make him wish he were dead. But you don't get to kill him."

    Lead defense attorney George Parnham told jurors his client loved her husband and, though she had suffered "deceptions upon deceptions," never meant to kill him.

    "Had she intended to kill David, her husband, would she ever have taken her stepdaughter with her?" Parnham asked. "It never would have been imagined."

    Trial testimony revealed that the 17-year-old stepdaughter, Lindsey Harris -- a key prosecution witness -- spent most of July 24 with Clara Harris and was in her Mercedes-Benz when it struck and killed the Clear Lake orthodontist.

    Parnham argued that Harris would not have been able to see her husband, who was standing outside his lover's sport utility vehicle in the parking lot of the Nassau Bay Hilton, in time to stop.

    As she circled him while he lay on the pavement, Parnham said, alluding to scenes captured on videotape by a private investigator, the circles grew progressively tighter.

    "After the third circle, she parks right next to the body," he said. "She kneels next to David and begs him to stay with her. And you know, the turns missed him."

    Parnham reminded jurors of testimony from David Harris' mother, father and brother, all of whom agreed that Clara Harris loved her husband.

    Magness, however, pointed out that not all of Clara Harris' relatives are standing by her. Lindsey Harris testified for the prosecution that her stepmother had vowed to "hit" her husband seconds before she stomped on the accelerator and sped in his direction.

    Magness also reminded jurors of numerous eyewitnesses who testified David Harris was run over two or more times. She cited the testimony of a county medical examiner who said autopsy evidence did not support the defense's one-runover scenario.

    Magness called for a murder conviction and pointed out that killing someone is still murder, even if the attacker "lost it."

    "It's the momentary loss of respect for human life and taking it. Did she lose it? You bet."

    "Faced with the truth, she attacked," Magness said. "But it wasn't enough to hit him; she had to punish him. So she ran over him again and again. No doubt, she was sorry when she was done.

    "The bottom line is this: She got mad, engaged in reckless, knowing conduct, and David is dead because of it. Though you've heard her called a good mother, a loving spouse, a good dentist, at this point it's time to call her what she is.

    "And that's a murderer."
     
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