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American Morning

Driven to Kill?

Aired February 13, 2003 - 08:40   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: Now, it's time to turn our attention to one of the most closely watched trials in the country, and we're going to rely on Jeffrey Toobin's expertise to bring us up to date on Clara Harris' trial.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: OK, Paula, did she intend to kill her husband? That's a key question facing jurors in the Harris trial. She is accused of killing her husband with her Mercedes in the parking lot of a Houston hotel, after finding him with his mistress. In closing arguments Wednesday, the prosecutor urged the jury to convict Harris of murder and nothing less.

But Harris' attorney said it's clear she should be acquitted. Deliberations resume this morning, and now, radio reporter Gail Delaughter has been covering the trial, and she joins us live from Houston.

Hi, Gail.

GAIL DELAUGHTER, RADIO REPORTER: Hi, good morning, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: Give us a sense of what summations were like, very different styles on display. Who do you think did better, the prosecutor or the defense lawyer?

DELAUGHTER: Well, I think they both scored points. The prosecution went through the chronology of the crime, what happened, what was going on in her mind before all this went down. And Mia Magness (ph) made some statements that sort of captures everyone's imagination here in Houston. She said, why didn't Clara Harris just go ahead get a divorce, or as she phrased it, take him to the cleaners, take away his kids, money, prestige in the community and make him feel like he was dead, his money, his prestige in the community, take him to the family law center and make him feel like he was dead, or he would want to be dead, rather than go ahead and kill him.

And then the defense talked a lot about state of mind, what they're trying to do was convince the jury that this was a woman in a very fragile state of mind, not that she killed her husband on purpose, but she was very hurt, very upset after finding her husband with his mistress, after trying very hard to save her marriage,and didn't really know what was going on. Her intent, she said, was to ram the Lincoln Navigator that belonged to the other woman, and then hit her husband by accident, but didn't intend to do it.

TOOBIN: Gail, the jury started deliberations yesterday afternoon, and then sent a note for a readback. Tell us what the jury wanted to hear.

DELAUGHTER: They wanted to hear about her cross-examination, what Clara Harris said during cross-examination about her statement to police. Two things she said in particular, that she wanted to separate her husband before the other woman, Gail Bridges, didn't go into specifics about how she actually wanted to separate him, whether physically, emotionally or what, but their was the issue of separating him, and then saying that she wanted to hurt him. And Mia Magness (ph) asked about this several times. She said if that's what I said in the statement, if that's what the police wrote down, that's what I said.

As for whether or not she wanted to hurt him, she clarified that during her testimony, and said, I wanted to hurt him emotionally.

TOOBIN: Gail Delaughter, thanks a lot. Jury deliberations resume today -- Paula.

ZAHN: Want to make a prediction? You have that red tie on -- usually when you're wearing that tie, you make very accurate predictions.

TOOBIN: This is not the official verdict tie. This is a case I've gone back and forth in. The evidence is very strong against her.

ZAHN: There is no doubt she killed him.

TOOBIN: There is no doubt she killed him. It's all a question of intent, but there is a lot of sympathy for her in the community. I think the fact that David Harris' parents, the parents of the murder victim, testified for the defense, very powerful stuff. I'm really torn on this one.

ZAHN: I think it must send a chilling message to a lot of men when America who are contemplating similar activities.

TOOBIN: Adultery rates may decline thanks to Clara Harris; the death penalty may ensue.

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 February 13, 2003 - 08:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, it's time to turn our attention to one of the most closely watched trials in the country, and we're going to rely on Jeffrey Toobin's expertise to bring us up to date on Clara Harris' trial.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: OK, Paula, did she intend to kill her husband? That's a key question facing jurors in the Harris trial. She is accused of killing her husband with her Mercedes in the parking lot of a Houston hotel, after finding him with his mistress. In closing arguments Wednesday, the prosecutor urged the jury to convict Harris of murder and nothing less.

But Harris' attorney said it's clear she should be acquitted. Deliberations resume this morning, and now, radio reporter Gail Delaughter has been covering the trial, and she joins us live from Houston.

Hi, Gail.

GAIL DELAUGHTER, RADIO REPORTER: Hi, good morning, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: Give us a sense of what summations were like, very different styles on display. Who do you think did better, the prosecutor or the defense lawyer?

DELAUGHTER: Well, I think they both scored points. The prosecution went through the chronology of the crime, what happened, what was going on in her mind before all this went down. And Mia Magness (ph) made some statements that sort of captures everyone's imagination here in Houston. She said, why didn't Clara Harris just go ahead get a divorce, or as she phrased it, take him to the cleaners, take away his kids, money, prestige in the community and make him feel like he was dead, his money, his prestige in the community, take him to the family law center and make him feel like he was dead, or he would want to be dead, rather than go ahead and kill him.

And then the defense talked a lot about state of mind, what they're trying to do was convince the jury that this was a woman in a very fragile state of mind, not that she killed her husband on purpose, but she was very hurt, very upset after finding her husband with his mistress, after trying very hard to save her marriage,and didn't really know what was going on. Her intent, she said, was to ram the Lincoln Navigator that belonged to the other woman, and then hit her husband by accident, but didn't intend to do it.

TOOBIN: Gail, the jury started deliberations yesterday afternoon, and then sent a note for a readback. Tell us what the jury wanted to hear.

DELAUGHTER: They wanted to hear about her cross-examination, what Clara Harris said during cross-examination about her statement to police. Two things she said in particular, that she wanted to separate her husband before the other woman, Gail Bridges, didn't go into specifics about how she actually wanted to separate him, whether physically, emotionally or what, but their was the issue of separating him, and then saying that she wanted to hurt him. And Mia Magness (ph) asked about this several times. She said if that's what I said in the statement, if that's what the police wrote down, that's what I said.

As for whether or not she wanted to hurt him, she clarified that during her testimony, and said, I wanted to hurt him emotionally.

TOOBIN: Gail Delaughter, thanks a lot. Jury deliberations resume today -- Paula.

ZAHN: Want to make a prediction? You have that red tie on -- usually when you're wearing that tie, you make very accurate predictions.

TOOBIN: This is not the official verdict tie. This is a case I've gone back and forth in. The evidence is very strong against her.

ZAHN: There is no doubt she killed him.

TOOBIN: There is no doubt she killed him. It's all a question of intent, but there is a lot of sympathy for her in the community. I think the fact that David Harris' parents, the parents of the murder victim, testified for the defense, very powerful stuff. I'm really torn on this one.

ZAHN: I think it must send a chilling message to a lot of men when America who are contemplating similar activities.

TOOBIN: Adultery rates may decline thanks to Clara Harris; the death penalty may ensue.

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