Jean Harris
Jean Harris was born Jean Struven in 1923 into a wealthy family in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in a strict Christian Science environment. After graduating from Smith College and initially working as a schoolteacher, she became a full-time homemaker following her marriage to Jim Harris, which ended in divorce in 1965. Harris later entered into a relationship with Dr. Herman Tarnower, a well-known cardiologist, but their engagement did not lead to marriage. In 1980, during a tumultuous period at the Madeira School where she worked, Harris became embroiled in a personal crisis that culminated in the tragic shooting of Tarnower, which she claimed was accidental.
Her high-profile trial raised significant legal and societal questions about justice and mental health, leading to her conviction for second-degree murder in 1981 and a sentence of fifteen years to life in prison. Throughout her incarceration, Harris became a model prisoner, advocating for the rights of incarcerated women and their children, and she established programs supporting mothers in prison. After serving twelve years, she was granted clemency in 1992 due to health issues. Jean Harris's story reflects the complexities of women within the criminal justice system, as she became a significant figure in discussions around the treatment of offenders and the challenges faced by women in prison. Her legacy includes positive contributions to the lives of women incarcerated alongside her and insights into the struggles of motherhood in such circumstances.
Subject Terms
Jean Harris
American murderer
- Born: April 27, 1923
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Died: December 23, 2012
Also known as: Jean Struven (birth name); Scarsdale Diet Murderess
Major offense: Murder
Active: March 10, 1980
Locale: Purchase, New York
Sentence: Fifteen years to life in prison; received clemency after twelve years
Early Life
Born Jean Struven in 1923, Jean Harris (HAR-ihs) was the child of a wealthy Cleveland, Ohio, family. Raised in a strict Christian Science household, she was an excellent student and graduated from Smith College. She married Jim Harris, a sales engineer. At first, Jean worked as a schoolteacher, but later she quit teaching to become a full-time homemaker. Her marriage ended in divorce in 1965.
Harris began dating Dr. Herman Tarnower, a high-society cardiologist, well known for his charming and promiscuous ways. He proposed in 1967, but he and Harris never married. Resuming her career as an educator, Harris in 1977 became administrator at Springside, a female academy outside Philadelphia. She later became headmistress of the exclusive Madeira School in McLean, Virginia.
Criminal Career
In 1980, Harris learned of drug use in a Madeira School dormitory. During the investigation, she telephoned Tarnower, who was her physician. She requested more of the medication he had been prescribing to treat her chronic depression. After promising to send the medicine, he also asked her about some missing books. Harris took this as an accusation of stealing. Tarnower also informed her that she would not be his date at an upcoming banquet in his honor.
Meanwhile, at the Madeira School, drug paraphernalia was discovered, as well as marijuana seeds and stems. Harris called an emergency meeting of faculty, students, and four suspects. The tense meeting resulted in the four students’ expulsion from the school.
The campus situation and her depressive state led Harris to thoughts of suicide. Wanting to say good-bye to Tarnower, she drove to his home with a gun, ready to take her own life. Once at his house, she found evidence of another woman, Lynne Tryforos, whom Harris felt was her rival for Tarnower’s attentions. What began as a conversation with the doctor escalated into a scuffle, and Harris shot Tarnower four times.
Legal Action and Outcome
In a high-profile trial, Harris pleaded temporary insanity, saying the shooting was accidental. Her trial raised a number of legal questions and divided public opinion. In 1981, she was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison. She was sent to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.
Harris was a model prisoner and became known as an authority on the problems faced by children of incarcerated women. She taught parenting and sex education classes and encouraged pregnant inmates to participate in a program that allowed inmates to keep their infants in the prison nursery. Harris established the Children’s Center, where incarcerated mothers could spend time with their children. She also wrote three books about her experiences.
After serving twelve years, Harris was granted clemency on December 29, 1992, on the grounds of ill health. Paroled in 1993, she was in her early seventies. Harris settled in the Northeast and continues to raise money and lecture on behalf of the children of incarcerated women.
Impact
Jean Harris’s crime and conviction took place in the years after the Civil Rights movement swept through the United States. Among the movement’s many effects was the more equal treatment of offenders within the criminal justice system. Harris was not a typical murderer. She was upper-class, educated, and older than most female offenders. Her trial raised a number of issues, including the fact that her jury was never given the option of determining her crime to be voluntary manslaughter. Harris, then, became emblematic of an offender condemned by a seemingly nondiscriminatory, newly enlightened justice system.
While in prison, Harris was somewhat able to reform her reputation: She contributed positively to the lives of incarcerated women, especially those with children. As an author, she was able to open a window on the world of women in prison. Her legacy at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility remains positive years after her release.
Bibliography
Alexander, Shana. Very Much a Lady: The Untold Story of Jean Harris and Dr. Herman Tarnower. Canada: Simon and Schuster, 2006. Examines the early lives of Harris and Tarnower and the trial following Tarnower’s death, including mistakes made by Harris’s defense team.
Harris, Jean. They Always Call Us Ladies. New York: Macmillan, 1988. Provides an excellent discussion of life in prison and the history of women’s prisons.
Harris, Jean. Stranger in Two Worlds. New York: Macmillan, 1986. The story of Harris’s life in and outside of prison, based on her memory and trial testimony.