Man convicted in Lorenzen Wright murder set for appeal hearing

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man convicted of murdering Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright will soon be back in the very same courtroom where he was sentenced to life in prison.

Records show Billy Ray Turner was recently transported to the Shelby County Jail and is set for a hearing Thursday in Judge Lee Coffee’s courtroom.

The hearing is for Turner’s post-conviction appeal.

It’s the latest step in the appeals process for Turner, who was convicted for Wright’s murder in March of 2022.

Turner’s appeal to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals was denied last October.

He filed an application to appeal to the state Supreme Court, which was denied in March.

Unlike a direct appeal which focuses on what the court got wrong, post-conviction appeals are typically based on ineffective counsel.

In an exclusive 2023 interview from prison with WREG Investigators April Thompson and Zaneta Lowe, Turner proclaimed his innocence.

He told WREG he had nothing to do with Wright’s murder. “No, I did not. I never was there. I never was there,” said Turner when asked if he shot or killed Wright.

Turner said he reached out to WREG to tell his side of the story, which no one had ever heard before. “I have all kind of documents of these people that, was that could have set me free, but never was mentioned, never was brought up,” said Turner.

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