Who is Susan Wright? Texas woman who stabbed husband in bed 193 times released from prison after 16 years
Susan Wright, who spent 16 years behind bars for the brutal murder of her husband in 2003, was released from prison in Killeen, Texas on Wednesday morning, December 30. The mother of two had been convicted of murder in 2004 after she stabbed her husband Jeff Wright around 193 times.
She tied him to their bed with the promise of sex after which she murdered him, ABC News had reported at the time. Several media outlets including The Houston Chronicle and KPRC-TV have reported that she has now been officially released after being granted parole. She will have to report to her parole officer until 2024.
Jurors had convicted Wright in 2004 and she was sentenced to 25 years in prison. She was granted a second trial in 2010 after a judge determined that she didn't receive adequate legal representation during the sentencing phase on the 2004 trial. Her sentence was then reduced to 20 years and she was recently released after which she will report to a parole officer for four years.
After she committed the crime, she proceeded to bury her husband in a hole that she had dug in their backyard. Prosecutors believe that she had wanted to collect thousands of dollars of life insurance from her husband's death, ABC News reveals. Wright's defense, however, said she had suffered from years of abuse and testified that she had been acting in self-defense and had taken the knife from her husband after he had raped her.
Wright said she had stabbed her husband many times but had then tied him to the bed as she believed that he was still alive. She claimed that everything she had done had been in self-defense. While testifying, Wright had said, "I couldn't stop stabbing him; I couldn't stop. I knew as soon as I stopped, he was going to get the knife back and he was going to kill me. I didn't want to die."
She had claimed her husband was a monster who would beat her, emotionally abuse her, and had accused her of cheating on him. She said the night that he died was the first time that he had fought back against her. The body of her husband was found when her lawyer notified authorities a week after his death. During the trial, prosecutors had brought the couple's bed in the courtroom as an effort to show the jury how they believe her husband was killed.
However, the defense also had several witnesses who they put on the stand. The witnesses say they had seen all of Wright's bruises and injuries, which were due to the abuse. One of the witnesses also included Wright's mother, Sue Wyche, who had backed up her daughter's claim of self-defense.
Wright arrived at her home in Harris County on Wednesday afternoon and did not want to speak to reporters who had gathered outside. She said, "Please don’t do this to my family. Please stop. Have a heart, please. I would just like privacy. Please respect that. I’m sure that y’all can understand, but don’t do this to my family. Even if you do it to me, don’t do it to them, please," she said.