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American Morning

Talk With Attorney George Parnham

Aired January 21, 2003 - 07:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And we turn our attention now to a trial that is going to get started months down the road, but jury selection getting under way in Texas today in a headline grabbing murder case. Clara Harris, a Houston dentist, is accused in the death of her husband last July. Witnesses say she ran over him repeatedly with her Mercedes Benz while his daughter was in the passenger seat. The scene was the parking lot of a Houston hotel where Harris had gone to confront her husband David about an alleged affair with another woman.
George Parnham is the attorney for Clara Harris.

He joins us now from Houston.

Good morning, Mr. Parnham.

Welcome back.

GEORGE PARNHAM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: The last time you appeared on the show, you made it abundantly clear there is no doubt in your mind that your client was driving this car. You pretty much confirm what witnesses said, that your client repeatedly ran over her husband.

What is your defense going to be?

PARNHAM: Paula, I am simply going to ask the public to withhold judgment on what was going on in the heart and the mind of Clara Harris until all the evidence is in. There's been some interesting developments concerning some physical evidence that we'll discuss in front of this jury by way of directing cross-examination. Certainly the fact that Lindsey is present in the car, as horrible as that is for that young woman -- and my heart has always gone out to her. No child should be forced nor be voluntarily present when a parent is killed in this manner. But I want any statements that she attributes to Clara to also be placed into context during the course of this case and I look forward to being able to do that in the days coming.

ZAHN: Well, you say your heart goes out to Mr. Harris's daughter, and yet prosecutors have said that at the time of this, what do you want to call it, murder or this killing, that she told her stepmother, quote, or her stepmother told her, "I'm going to kill him and get away with it for all he's put me through."

What is the context we're missing here? PARNHAM: I understand that that is an observation and we will contest the exact nature of that particular statement. But I want to be able to place and for the jury to hear all of those remarks or any of those remarks into a contextual situation.

To give an example, a statement was attributed to Clara by Lindsey that, "I'm going to hit him." Now, is that a declaration of intent? Is it an observation? We know that there were other individuals that were close to that Navigator when that car came around. This will be an interesting area of conjecture and speculation when it's developed on close examination, and I'll do it as gingerly as I can when Lindsey's on the stand.

ZAHN: But are you really telling us this morning, sir, if people were to understand what went on in this relationship that there was a justification to kill another human being? Is that what you expect a jury to believe?

PARNHAM: I'm going to allow a jury to make its own determination as to the events and what was going on in the heart of Clara Harris. All I can tell you at this time, Paula, is that we've got a woman whose heart is not filled with hate, but it's filled with hurt. And she's behind the wheel of that car.

But I want to be able to demonstrate for this jury breaking down the physical evidence, cross-examining people who are eyewitnesses to show this jury what actually occurred out there in that parking lot.

ZAHN: But you're going to try to prove she snapped in some way?

PARNHAM: Well, you know, the word snapped is a word of art. Did she lose it? Did she go through a meltdown? Certainly from her perspective and the perspective, I think, that is shared by any one of us when we are confronted with a situation where the person that we love is in the arms of someone else, what goes through that mind, what happens to that heart, what actions take place that would otherwise not occur in a very logical and rational set of circumstances, my job is going to be able to have a jury identify with Clara Harris in conjunction with all of the circumstances that happened and I'm going to do the very best that I can to give her the very best defense that that woman deserves.

ZAHN: George Parnham, thank you very much for your time this morning.

PARNHAM: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your dropping by.

PARNHAM: You bet.

ZAHN: Mr. Parnham, if the name is familiar to you, is the same man who represented Andrea Yates during her trial.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 21, 2003 - 07:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And we turn our attention now to a trial that is going to get started months down the road, but jury selection getting under way in Texas today in a headline grabbing murder case. Clara Harris, a Houston dentist, is accused in the death of her husband last July. Witnesses say she ran over him repeatedly with her Mercedes Benz while his daughter was in the passenger seat. The scene was the parking lot of a Houston hotel where Harris had gone to confront her husband David about an alleged affair with another woman.
George Parnham is the attorney for Clara Harris.

He joins us now from Houston.

Good morning, Mr. Parnham.

Welcome back.

GEORGE PARNHAM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: The last time you appeared on the show, you made it abundantly clear there is no doubt in your mind that your client was driving this car. You pretty much confirm what witnesses said, that your client repeatedly ran over her husband.

What is your defense going to be?

PARNHAM: Paula, I am simply going to ask the public to withhold judgment on what was going on in the heart and the mind of Clara Harris until all the evidence is in. There's been some interesting developments concerning some physical evidence that we'll discuss in front of this jury by way of directing cross-examination. Certainly the fact that Lindsey is present in the car, as horrible as that is for that young woman -- and my heart has always gone out to her. No child should be forced nor be voluntarily present when a parent is killed in this manner. But I want any statements that she attributes to Clara to also be placed into context during the course of this case and I look forward to being able to do that in the days coming.

ZAHN: Well, you say your heart goes out to Mr. Harris's daughter, and yet prosecutors have said that at the time of this, what do you want to call it, murder or this killing, that she told her stepmother, quote, or her stepmother told her, "I'm going to kill him and get away with it for all he's put me through."

What is the context we're missing here? PARNHAM: I understand that that is an observation and we will contest the exact nature of that particular statement. But I want to be able to place and for the jury to hear all of those remarks or any of those remarks into a contextual situation.

To give an example, a statement was attributed to Clara by Lindsey that, "I'm going to hit him." Now, is that a declaration of intent? Is it an observation? We know that there were other individuals that were close to that Navigator when that car came around. This will be an interesting area of conjecture and speculation when it's developed on close examination, and I'll do it as gingerly as I can when Lindsey's on the stand.

ZAHN: But are you really telling us this morning, sir, if people were to understand what went on in this relationship that there was a justification to kill another human being? Is that what you expect a jury to believe?

PARNHAM: I'm going to allow a jury to make its own determination as to the events and what was going on in the heart of Clara Harris. All I can tell you at this time, Paula, is that we've got a woman whose heart is not filled with hate, but it's filled with hurt. And she's behind the wheel of that car.

But I want to be able to demonstrate for this jury breaking down the physical evidence, cross-examining people who are eyewitnesses to show this jury what actually occurred out there in that parking lot.

ZAHN: But you're going to try to prove she snapped in some way?

PARNHAM: Well, you know, the word snapped is a word of art. Did she lose it? Did she go through a meltdown? Certainly from her perspective and the perspective, I think, that is shared by any one of us when we are confronted with a situation where the person that we love is in the arms of someone else, what goes through that mind, what happens to that heart, what actions take place that would otherwise not occur in a very logical and rational set of circumstances, my job is going to be able to have a jury identify with Clara Harris in conjunction with all of the circumstances that happened and I'm going to do the very best that I can to give her the very best defense that that woman deserves.

ZAHN: George Parnham, thank you very much for your time this morning.

PARNHAM: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your dropping by.

PARNHAM: You bet.

ZAHN: Mr. Parnham, if the name is familiar to you, is the same man who represented Andrea Yates during her trial.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com