Phillip Jackson

Memphis Commercial Appeal

Lorenzen Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, spoke in court Thursday morning, minutes after Sherra Wright pleaded guilty to facilitating first-degree murder.

Standing behind the bar that separates the lawyers and court personnel from the audience, Marion stood up and addressed Sherra Wright, who was sitting a few feet away from her, inside the bar in an orange jail uniform.

She thanked Sherra Wright for giving her grandchildren — and she begged for a chance to see them.

“We just love 'em, we just want to see 'em.”

Marion asked Sherra Wright to tell the grandchildren it's OK for them to speak with their grandmother.

“I just hate what happened to my child,” Marion said.

Sherra Wright asked, "Am I able to respond to her?"

Her attorneys spoke briefly with one another, then said they didn't want Sherra Wright to speak.

Judge Lee Coffee said he knows that nothing the courts do can bring back Lorenzen Wright.

“I hope it brings you some closure," he said, adding that he hopes it allows the family to heal.

He said the trial for one of Sherra Wright's alleged co-conspirators in the killing, Billy Turner, is set to continue as scheduled in September.

After the hearing, Marion spoke to media, and said it was only the thought of her grandchildren that powered her through the trial.

"As long as I could think of them, I could stay positive," Marion said. “I’m so glad this is over so my grand-kids can heal and rest and come see their grandmama,”

When a reporter asked if she would work to keep Sherra Wright in prison, she said yes.

"My son is serving life," she said.