Sherra Wright – Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife – will not be granted early release from a 30-year prison sentence she received after pleading guilty to plotting the retired NBA player’s 2010 slaying, the Tennessee Board of Parole said Monday.
The board voted to deny parole for Wright, who entered a guilty plea in July 2019 to facilitation of first-degree murder in her ex-husband’s killing. The decision was reached after three of seven board members agreed to deny her release based on the seriousness of her offense, board spokesman Dustin Krugel said in an email to The Associated Press.
Sherra Wright appeared at a parole hearing May 11 at the prison in Nashville where she is being held. Wright said she has done well in classes she is taking from prison and has a support system to help her when she is released. Two of her children gave statements on her behalf.
Among those speaking against her early release was Lorenzen Wright’s mother, Deborah Marion. She said Sherra Wright should serve the full 30 years of her sentence.
Sherra Wright received the hearing based on her so-called “safety valve” date, which is the earliest possible release date for some inmates under an executive order regarding prison overcrowding. Tennessee’s Department of Correction said she has received more than three years of credit related to her time served.
(This Associated Press story is by Adrian Sainz.)
