Clara Harris
In a case that riveted the nation, GCW's media strategy worked to shift the narrative around Clara Harris from premeditation to a crime of passion — and the jury adjusted the charge to sudden passion at sentencing.
In 2002 Clara Harris, a Houston dentist, struck her unfaithful orthodontist husband David Harris with her Mercedes-Benz after a private investigator she had engaged tracked him to a liaison with his receptionist. His teenage daughter from a prior marriage witnessed the event.
The media maelstrom around the trial was fuelled by allegations of premeditation, prompted by the stepdaughter's testimony and the prosecution's angle. GCW's media strategy set out to shift that narrative, emphasising the act as a crime of passion carried out in a moment of overwhelming emotional turmoil.
The defence's media effort was itself chronicled — a six-month ABC 20/20 feature titled “Behind the scenes of a criminal defense” — and it culminated in the jury adjusting the charge to sudden passion during sentencing.
The story drew extensive coverage and later inspired a television movie. After serving 15 years as a model prisoner, Clara Harris was released in May 2018, five years short of her original sentence.
Results
- A sudden-passion finding at sentencing, against a prosecution case built on premeditation
- A six-month ABC 20/20 feature on the defence's own media operation
- Released in May 2018 after 15 years, five years short of the original sentence
