MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lorenzen Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion, is headed to Nashville next week for what could be a difficult day. Sherra Wright is up for parole after serving less than five years of her 30-year prison sentence.
Marion and other family members are ready to testify in Wright’s parole hearing and they hope to persuade the board to keep Wright locked up.
“I’m going to be up close and personal,” Marion said. “That she stay in (prison) as long as possible.”
Wright pleaded guilty in 2019 to planning the Memphis basketball star’s murder but the clock on her 30-year sentence began in 2018 when she was booked into the Shelby County Jail. According to Wright’s plea deal, she shouldn’t be eligible for parole until 2027.
We asked board members why things were moved up but haven’t gotten an answer.
Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich is using this development to support Tennessee’s Truth in Sentencing bill. The measure, which is awaiting Governor Lee’s signature, would require certain violent offenders to serve 100 percent of their sentences.
Weirich said, “The bill comes too late to affect Sherra Wright’s early parole hearing, but going forward it will add at least some measure of credibility to Tennessee’s sentencing laws.”
We hope to learn more about Sherra Wright’s argument for early parole during the hearing on May 11th.