After her conviction of running over her adulterous husband, should she get probation or 99 years in the slammer?

Last week, Clara Harris was found guilty for the murder of her husband. Harris drove over him--not once, but three times--after she found him in a hotel with another woman. The prosecution's only witness, stepdaughter Lindsey Harris, was in the speeding car that killed her father. The jury must now decide Clara Harris's sentence, which could mean 99 years in jail or only probation.

If Harris acted in "sudden passion," meaning she didn't realize what she was doing, her term would be lighter. However, if she was predisposed to act violently toward her husband, her punishment would be much harsher. Many do not believe Harris is innocent.

According to court reports, Harris's efforts to save her marriage backfired. For example, she underwent breast augmentation in hopes of pleasing her husband. Her actions, though, did little to improve their relationship's underlying problems.

Couples do recover from adulterous affairs. However, recovery involves "a great deal of communication about what went wrong and what can be done to correct it," says Geraldine Piorkowski, Ph.D., a clinical associate professor at the University of Illinois. While it's not easy to recover from the painful emotions of adultery, Harris's alternative was a deadly one.

Geraldine Piorkowski is the author of Too Close for Comfort: Exploring the Risks of Intimacy(Perseus, 2001)

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