Murder, Self-Defense, or Both?

Discretion. Every court case has two sides to it. Obviously one is right and the other is wrong, supposedly or hopefully. What about those cases where there's enough evidence to lead you to believe that a crime did happen as stated, yet the defense was not capable of providing an adequate defense to acquit his or her client on the grounds of self defense or battered women's syndrome or temporary insanity, something like that, even though there was more than an adequate amount of evidence proving that any one of those options could have been the case. How does a lawyer go about proving that there are extenuating circumstances behind a murder, especially one in which the suspect has been examined and psychologically tested and found to be suffering from battered women syndrome as well as post traumatic stress disorder. The story we're talking about today is the case of a woman who stabbed her husband one hundred and ninety three times, broke the tip off of a knife in his skull, and she tried to cover up the crime for a week. It's a virtually impossible task for the defense. While being examined at a hospital by a psychologist Susan Wright admitted she knew her husband was dead, yet she had also stated how terrified she was that this man was going to wake up and come after her to kill her. The defense attorney refused to put the psychiatrist on the stand during the trial because his client had admitted to him that she knew that her husband was dead, although this could have been carried out in questioning to show that she also stated that her fear was that he was going to wake up and come after her to kill her. It's complicated, or is it. The story of Jeff and Susan Wright began as one of many young lady's biggest dreams. A tall, handsome young man falls in love with the pretty, young blonde. They ultimately married begin a family. The honeymoon seldom last for very long in most marriages. Unfortunately, life happens, war happens, problems happen, and all of these issues are either worked through as a couple or the stress changes the behavior of one, if not both, people in the marriage. The couple had two children. As a matter of fact, Susan was eight and a half months pregnant when they got married. Jeff's father stated while on the stand during the trial that Jeff had spoken to him about feeling as though Susan had gotten preyer ignant on purpose. Fatherly advice was given that he should be there for his child, that the child needs a father. According to Jeff's father, Jeff decided to go ahead and get married, even though he felt like he was maybe being trapped by Susan. Susan and Jeff met in nineteen ninety seven, dated, and she became pregnant in nineteen ninety eight. They also got married that same year. In two thousand and two, Susan had another child, a daughter, and they seemed to be the perfect family, at least that's the way they tried to make it look from the outside. Neighbors, however, seemed to know that the marriage wasn't going great and tried to speak with Susan about leaving and divorcing Jeff. They told her that at minimum she could get a restraining order for protection against Jeff. Ultimately, Susan Wright did go to the police and request the restraining order and order for protection. However, she did this the day after that unfortunate night where she used Jeff's neckties to time to the bed and lost all rational thinking. The facts in the case are pretty simple. Jeff Wright was brutally murdered after being tied to the bed wrists and ankles. Did Susan write coercome into thinking there would be a night with his sexual fantasies fulfilled? Or is it more accurate to say that Jeff had come home from air quotes working late drunk as well as high in cocaine and other drugs, in a state of inebriation. Did he cause such a fear in Susan that she was no longer able to think clearly and just snapped. Did she disassociate herself and brutally murder this man that she claimed love and then not be able to fully remember her actions completely? Try to imagine a small, petite framed lady wrestling to tie up this six foot man who weighed at least two hundred pounds. Honestly, either version could be accurate, at least until you add in statements provided by Susan Wright herself. She had told others that when Jeff came home drunk and high, he was a violent person. He would hit her in places that wouldn't be able to be seen on the normal everyday basis he would only hit her in places where the bruises were able to be hidden by clothing. Given the size difference between the two, it seems that it would be obvious that Jeff was probably not aware of being tied to the bed. The medical examiner stated that none of the wounds would have been enough to kill Jeff instantly, so logically speaking, there would have been some sign of his trying to get loose in an attempt to fight back. There was no mention of defensive wounds bruising from the neckties that were used to tie him up on either wrists or the ankles. In other words, he didn't struggle. So again, how is this small female able to attack this man with a knife one hundred and ninety three times, including breaking the tip off of one knife. The prosecutor in the state of texts versus Susan Lucille Wright, when after the alleged suspect in a direct and cold way, her questions were clear, concise and direct, leaving no doubt in her mind and the mind of the jurors that Susan Wright was not being fully truthful when it came to what happened that night of January thirteenth, two thousand and three. It makes you wonder if Susan was telling the truth, then maybe she didn't truly remember things from that night. Disassociative behavior, as well as disassociative personality disorder, is caused by prolonged trauma stemming from abuse, or at least it can be. Let's look at some of Susan's behavior from the night she killed Jeff and into the next few days. After the murder. She stated in court and to the psychiatrist that she remained awake all night, expecting Jeff to wake up, find her, and kill her. She stated this many times while in the psychiatric hold. She did lie to her in law when they called asking her if Jeff had returned home. Susan later told them that Jeff had taken some clothes and left after they had an argument. Susan had also taken apart their bed and moved it to an outdoor area after digging a shallow hole and rolling Jeff's body into it, but the family dog continuously went over to that area, digging down the short distance to Jeff's body. Susan went shopping bought more dirt to cover the body with. In an attempt to stop the dog. When that also did not work, she placed the blood soaked mattress over the area where the body was buried to keep the dog from digging him up. Another phone call made to Jeff's cell phone was his friend. He was surprised to hear Susan answer the phone instead of Jeff, and after asking Susan about Jeff's whereabouts, Susan hung up the phone. Her behavior could be described as erratic. It could definitely be described in a way that was most often seen in day associative disorders, according to those who evaluated her. There is confusion about how Susan Wright was actually caught. One report is that her mother had spoken to an attorney and arranged for him to go to Susan's home, where Susan ultimately admitted to him that Jeff was dead. Her mother arrived to the visit with her daughter and found her in a confused state in her vehicle. Susan then told her that she thought she had done something very bad. She thought that she may have killed Jeff. Another report states that after having trouble keeping the family dog away from where she buried Jeff's body, Susan herself called the attorney. Reports on this are conflicting. The defense attorney is the one who informed law enforcement that there was a body buried at the address. He refused to say anything else for obvious legal reasons. The defense attorney reported the body immediately after taking Susan to the hospital for an evaluation. In Susan's defense of her behavior, the skittish behavior the confused states the constant fear that someone was after her or that Jeff would come back and kill her, that he could hear her. If true, is more than enough evidence to show that there was a mental break at the time. Is this an excuse to justify murder? The jurors found her guilty and sentenced her to twenty five years in prison for killing Jeff Wright. Her first appeal attempt failed. However, her second attempt at an appeal was granted due to ineffective counsel at the sentencing phase of the original trial. Since two thousand and four, Susan Wright has had her appeals, resulting in only a reduced sentence by five years. Although she did have a chance at parole twice since her conviction, she didn't receive parole until July second, twenty twenty. When she made an appeal in two thousand and eight, she had a different attorney as well as a brand new witness. Misty mac michael, a former Beyonce of Jeff Wright, took the stand and reiterated how abusive Jeff could be. Misty had been beaten, thrown down a flight of stairs, and she was cut badly with broken glass in a bar. However, the charges were dropped by Misty out of extreme fear of Jeff retaliating. So what causes merit decide? Is it a rough childhood, years of abuse, massive trauma. I don't believe there's really any simple answer to that question, and the answer would be different from case to case. Did Susan write have a right to kill an abusive spouse? Jeff was not on trial for abuse. Susan had steps she could have taken to get out of an abusive relationship. She also had friends and family that were there for her, giving her advice about what to do. None of us were in her shoes. We didn't live the life she claims that she was living. We didn't live the trauma or the pain that she spoke of. Murder is wrong in the eyes of the law. And Susan didn't take any steps to help herself and her children until after she had already killed the one person who she said was abusing her. Obviously, we all feel terrible about the situation that women like Susan find themselves in. But is murder the answer? A jury of her peers said no. That is ten minute Murder for today brief and bingeable true crime. I'm Joe, I'm the host, and thank you so much for listening to ten minute Murder today. If you're brand new, make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening right now. Follow on social media Facebook, Instagram, Twitter links her in the show notes as well as at ten minute murder dot com. If you'd like to get in touch with me, my email address is Joe at ten minute Murder dot com. And if you're hearing this story right now, if you listen to it today and you're in a domestic abuse situation you don't know what to do, please contact help. I'll put information for you in the episode description of this episode. Even if you have questions about it, like is what I'm going through actually abuse? They can help with that too. No one deserves to go through that if you need help or have questions about domestic violence, go to thehotline dot org or call one eight hundred seven ninety nine seven two three three