Cohen Praises FBI, DOJ for Pursuing Justice in Mickey Wright Case

Press Release

Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today praised the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice for pursuing justice in the Mickey Wright case on a hate crime statute. Mickey Wright -- a Shelby County Code Enforcement Inspector -- was killed and transported to Mississippi where he was dismembered and burned in 2001. This was the first time a federal hate crime was successfully prosecuted in Tennessee.

"Justice has finally come and the Wright family can begin the healing process," said Congressman Cohen, who introduced legislation several years ago to make it a federal crime to transport a dismembered body across state lines for the purpose of covering up evidence in a homicide. "I spoke to Frances Wright today and she said the family is happy with the plea. U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice should be commended for seeing this difficult case through. Mickey Wright was a good man who was just doing his job when he fell victim to a hate crime and was murdered by Dale Mardis, who also admitted killing another man in 1998. Where the state failed to prosecute this case adequately, the federal government succeeded and justice has been achieved."

Congressman Cohen has met with the Wright family several times over the years and worked closely with My Harrison, the special agent in charge of the Memphis FBI Field Office when the heinous crime took place, to pursue justice on behalf of the Wright family.

In 2007, over the wishes of Wright's family, Dale Mardis was allowed to plead no contest to state charges of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of Mickey Wright.

U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton recently pursued a sentence of life in prison, arguing that the 2001 shooting was a premeditated, racially motivated hate crime against a government employee. Congressman Cohen recommended Ed Stanton to President Obama for appointment to the U.S. Attorney's Office in early 2010.

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