MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Behind closed doors, Sherra Wright and her defense team were deciding whether she would plead guilty to her role in the death of Lorenzen Wright.
That decision was made public on Thursday when she pleaded guilty in front of Judge Lee Coffee, state prosecutors and Lorenzen’s family.
After years of denying any role in the murder of her ex-husband, Sherra is doing an about-face. Her defense team says plans to possible plead guilty started taking shape several weeks ago.
“This offer is the best course of action for her,” defense attorney Laurie Hall said.
Sherra was given 30 years for facilitating the murder of the former NBA star and an additional eight years for an earlier attempt on Lorenzen’s life. The two sentences will be served at the same time.
Sherra’s attorney’s Juni Ganguli and Lori Hall says this means the mother of six would still have a quality of life upon release, after serving the mandated 30 percent of 30 years.
“She’ll serve nine to 15 years, minus jail credit, so she will see freedom. It may be in her 50’s,” Ganguli said.
Her lawyers said Billy Turner, who’s also charged in the case, and Sherra’s cousin Jimmy Martin, who led police to the murder weapon, were expected to testify against their client. Their testimonies could have resulted in a life sentence for Sherra.
“You had Jimmy Martin and Billy both testifying against Sherra. Then the defense of ‘I had nothing to do with it’ wouldn’t really be viable,” Ganguli said.
Sherra’s defense team threw out some serious allegations. They say the reason she had a role in her ex-husband’s murder centers around her being “abused by Lorenzen.”
