‘Truly free’: Edward Wright, freed after four decades in prison, will not be prosecuted again
SPRINGFIELD — Edward Wright will not be prosecuted again for a 1984 murder, ensuring his freedom after four decades in prison.
The decision by Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni not to try him again comes after a local judge questioned the fairness of Wright's 1985 trial, triggering his release last month .
Gulluni said in a statement Thursday that due to the "significant passage of time and the loss of key witnesses," Wright would not be tried a second time for the 1984 murder of Penny Anderson, a friend who Wright maintains he did not kill.
Wright, who is Black, was 22 when he was convicted by an all-white jury in 1985. He tried five times to overturn his conviction, his attorneys said this spring. His conviction was vacated by a judge in April.
"We're overjoyed and Mr. Wright is relieved that this nightmare won't extend," said Stephanie Hartung, one of Wright's attorneys and a senior attorney for the New England Innocence Project. "He's been trying for years to prove his innocence. He was released last month and now he's truly free."
Wright was not immediately available to speak with a reporter about the news.
Gulluni has maintained that Wright received a fair trial — a decision that was upheld by multiple courts, including the Supreme Judicial Court on "five separate occasions," the district attorney said in the statement.
"Our decision to dismiss the case does not mean that this was a wrongful conviction or that we believe the defendant is innocent," he said. "It is a legal and ethical decision based solely on the reality that, 40 years later, we cannot reconstruct the trial that occurred in 1985."
Anderson, the victim, was found murdered inside her Dwight Street Extension apartment in 1984. She had been bound and stabbed more than 60 times.
Prosecutors during the first trial claimed that Wright and Anderson, who worked as an exotic dancer at Club 418 on Worthington Street, left the club and went to her apartment. They alleged that it was Wright who tied her up and stabbed her multiple times.
In April, Hampden Superior Court Judge Jeremy Bucci found that the prosecution hid important evidence and lied about it during Wright's 1985 trial, according to a statement from the New England Innocence Project.
"The prosecution knowingly and intentionally withheld significant exculpatory evidence of a break-in to the crime scene and that a detective gave false testimony at trial concerning evidence central to the prosecution's case," Bucci said in his decision.
New DNA tests in the case also showed Wright was not connected to key evidence from the crime scene.
"There is bitterness for all the years I've lost in prison , but also sweetness in the possibility of freedom," Wright said in a statement at the time.
Gulluni expressed concern over the fact that Wright's conviction, which had been upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court, could be overturned. "It raises important questions about the finality of verdicts and the consistency of our justice system," he said.
The DA also said his thoughts remain with Anderson and her family due to the reversal of Wright's convictions.
"While we must make decisions consistent with our ethical responsibilities, our hearts are with Penny and her family and our minds are struck by the increasing fragility of justice in our system," he said.
The conditions of Wright's release will also be vacated, said Hartung, including the removal of his ankle monitor on Friday morning.
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