I had led a private life and wanted to die a private death.

She later stated that Jean Harris had planned to commit suicide after talking in person with Tarnower one last time. Because the defense had hoped for a complete acquittal the jury was not offered the option of finding Harris guilty of first-degree manslaughter — the mercy option — and the mental health professionals who tested and treated Harris were not called to testify. Harris's murder trial was depicted in the 1981 made-for-television movie The People vs.

Jean Struven Harris (April 27 1923 – December 23 2012) was the headmistress of The Madeira School for girls in McLean Virginia who made national news in the early 1980s as Jean Harris was tried and convicted of the murder of her lover Dr.