Source: The Sporting News / Getty
Thursday (July 25) Sherra Wright, the ex-wife of NBA player Lorenzen Wright, plead guilty to the plotting the murder of the former professional baller in 2010. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Time is reported the bombshell news that Sherra Wright pled guilty to the facilitation of a criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder in a hearing in a Shelby County Criminal Court. The 30-year sentence was issued by Judge Lee Coffee, she will be eligible for parole in nine years. If she didn’t take the plea deal which was agreed upon by Lorenzen’s family, Wright was looking at life in prison. His mother Deborah Marion begged to see her grandchildren while addressing the court. “I just hate what happened to my child, but he left some nice-looking kids for their grandma,” she said.
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman speaking on Sherra’s involvement in the hit job stated:
“This is obviously a violent offense, an offense that has torn apart a family, an offense that’s been highlighted throughout Memphis and the media and everything else.”
Wright’s defense attorney, Juni Ganguli, broke down what his client’s defense would have been had she decided to go to trial. He pointed to the alleged physical abuse she endured for years while married.
The beatings were consistent, and it led to her face being disfigured,” Ganguli said. “She feared that Mr. Wright would never leave her alone, and she recruited Billy Turner to kill Mr. Wright.”
Wright reportedly carried out the murder with Bill Turner, a landscaper she met in church and the two instantly developed a relationship. The original plan was to have the former Memphis Grizzles player killed by two men in his Atlanta home, but that plan didn’t pan out according to an affidavit. Wright’s went missing for 10 days, his body was found July 28, 2010, full of bullet holes.
The murder made headlines and “shook” his hometown of Memphis where he was a beloved figure. Friends and former NBA players Afernee “Penny Hardaway and Elliot Perry attended the memorial service for the Wright following the days after his body was discovered.
Turner was charged with first-degree murder on December 17, he is set to go on trial for his participation in the crime Sept.16.
Wright’s mother stressed that she wants to see Sherra Wright serve the full 30 years.
“My son is serving life.”
We hope this gives Wright’s family some sort of solace.
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Photo: The Sporting News / Getty
