It was the first time Clara Harris had been eligible for release since her conviction in 2004. The parole board, however, says the nature of the offense though was reason enough to keep her locked up.
For over 10 years now, Clara Harris has been in prison. She's served half of the 20-year sentence given to her after she was convicted in the cold-blooded killing of her husband, David.
It was in 2002. The Friendswood dentist made national headlines after she found David Harris with his mistress at a Nassau Bay hotel and then ran over him repeatedly in the parking lot. Her then-teenage stepdaughter witnessed the whole thing from the passenger seat. A private investigator videotaped it from a short distance away.
"It was so horrific," said Bobbi Bacha with Blue Moon Investigations.
Harris had hired Bacha and Blue Moon Investigations to follow her husband. Bacha says Harris might have garnered more empathy had she ever shown remorse for her actions.
For example, Bacha remembers the day after the incident.
"She called me, calmly wanting a refund because we didn't finish the night of surveillance after she had killed her husband, which I thought was really odd behavior," Bacha said.
On Friday, We reached out to George Parnham, who represented Harris in her trial. He told us, "I wish the best for her. I've always worried about her children. I want a good future for everyone. It was a tragedy."
City of Houston Crime Victim's Advocate Andy Kahan says he would have been shocked if the parole board had released Harris at her first request. He questions what message that would have sent.
"I can only recall maybe one time where someone had been granted parole on their first offense, and they were an accessory, not the actual person who was culpable for taking someone's life," Kahan said.
Harris' case will come up for parole review again in April 2015.
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