Susan Wright was a 27-year-old stay-at-home mother from Texas who stabbed her husband, Jeff, 193 times. She claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse and that on January 13, 2003, her husband attacked her with a knife and she fought back in self-defense. But a jury found her guilty of murder and sentenced her to twenty-five years in prison. Six years later, a new attorney took on her case to get her sentence reduced. Would a jury agree? “48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 3/12/2011. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What led to Susan Wright's conviction?
Did Jeff end up hitting Bradley in the cheek?
Yes, he did.
Susan said she put Bradley and his younger sister, Kaylee, to bed and then confronted her husband, told him she would leave if he didn't get help.
He came at me, and he swung me around and threw me against the wall, and he told me not to give him any f****** ultimatums, bitch, that I didn't have the right.
Susan told the court later that night, Jeff raped her.
My eyes were closed, and I heard his voice. And it was scary. It was calm. And he said, die, bitch, and I opened up my eyes.
She said Jeff was holding a knife. According to her, she kicked Jeff in the groin, grabbed the knife, and started stabbing. Where did you stab him?
His head and his chest and his neck and his stomach and his leg from when he kicked me. I stabbed him in his penis for all the time. Then he made me have sex and I didn't want to. I couldn't stop because he was going to kill me and I couldn't stop.
Prosecutor Kelly Siegler doesn't believe a word of it.
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Chapter 2: How did Susan Wright describe the alleged abuse?
While Susan was slashing at her husband, Bradley, their four-year-old son, woke up and knocked at the bedroom door. Susan had to stop stabbing his father to put Bradley back to bed. And that's when, she says, she tied up her husband.
And then he tied up his right arm to the bed so that he couldn't get up because I was afraid he was going to get up and come after me when I was putting Bradley back to sleep.
After calming Bradley, Susan says she got a fresh knife from the kitchen, came back into the bedroom, and started stabbing Jeff again. When she finally finished stabbing him, she dragged his body off the bed and tied him to a dolly. But she didn't take him very far. This is the patio. This is where Jeff Wright ended up. In a shallow hole he dug himself as part of a home improvement project.
Why didn't you call the police?
Because Jeff was still alive.
What do you mean he's still alive? This is not rational. You understand that now.
Now I understand that. When he was still alive, he wasn't dead.
Susan claimed she was in a fog the next few days.
She took my son's name off of the answering machine. Which, you know, in a fog? That raises a little question, doesn't it?
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Chapter 3: What was the prosecution's argument against Susan?
All rise. Thank you. Please be seated.
I'm ready to announce my rulings on... It was a million-to-one shot, and it worked. The judge said Susan should have a new sentencing hearing before a new jury. All right, thank you very much. Thank you so much.
You're welcome. I'm just trying to give you back your sister. Hey, Sue, how are you?
Weiss calls his client in prison to tell her the good news.
Oh, Brian, you're serious?
I am.
Oh, my God. I'm so excited. Thank you so much. You have just given me so much hope.
Okay, dear. It was not the news Jeff Wright's father wanted to hear. When you got the word that she had been granted a new sentencing hearing, what did you make of that? I felt like throwing up.
So what would you like to see happen now? Life would be nice. Life? Life in prison? Yeah. Don't you think that animals should be locked up and kept behind bars?
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