Joel Dale (Jody) Wright was born the seventh of eight children on August 28, 1957. In 1983, Lima Smith, a 75 year old school teacher who had lived next door to the Wrights for many years in Palatka, Florida, was found murdered. On February 6, 1983, at 4:15 p.m., the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Earl Smith, Ms. Smith’s brother. Mr. Smith had just discovered her body. Ms. Smith’s body was in a crevice (not over six inches wide) between the bed and the bedroom wall. Ms. Smith had twelve stab wounds in the left side of her face and neck. The stab wounds were consistent with a pocket knife. Located on top of her exposed abdomen was a candy bar.

The evidence against Jody derived from three sources. First, there was the testimony of Charles Westberry. Jody and Westberry had been friends who had started stealing scrap metal and selling it. After Ms. Smith’s death, Jody had been interviewed and explained that on the night of the homicide he had been out late playing poker. When he arrived home after midnight, he was locked out; so he walked across town to Westberry’s house where he spent the night. Westberry vouched for the accuracy Jody’s report, confirming his arrival sometime around 1:00 a.m. A couple of months later, Westberry had a conversation with his estranged wife, Page, who was dating a deputy sheriff. Westberry indicated: "he [Jody] had a lot of nerve to get him in trouble when Charles said he had enough shit to put him under the jail." Westberry then indicated that Jody had confessed the murder of Lima Smith to him. Page told her boyfriend, a deputy sheriff. Westberry was arrested and charged as accessory to murder. He was given immunity if he testified against Jody.

Second, there was the presence of a fingerprint. However, Jody explained that he had been Ms. Smith’s neighbor and had been in the house on numerous occasions.

Third, Officer Walter Perkins testified that when Jody was alone with him he had said: "If I confess to this, I’ll die in the electric chair, if I don’t talk I stand a chance of living."

In the defense’s case, Jody testified in his own behalf. A spectator in the courtroom, Kathy Waters, heard his testimony. After the evidence was closed, she contacted defense counsel and advised him that she remembered driving some young people home after a church function at approximately 12:30 a.m. on February 6, 1983, and seeing someone who looked like Jody walking toward Westberry’s trailer park. The judge refused to allow the defense to call Ms. Waters as a witness.

Jody’s convictions and sentence of death were affirmed in 1985; the exclusion of Ms. Waters’ testimony was ruled error, but harmless. Wright v. State, 473 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1094 (1986)(Blackmun, J., joined by Brennan, and Marshall, JJ, dissenting regarding the determination that the error was harmless error).

At a post-conviction hearing the prosecutor, James Dunning, testified that he had not provided the defense with the reports implicating Henry Jackson (Dunning’s former client who had a prior murder conviction) and Clayton Strickland (Jackson’s roommate) in the homicide. Dunning also acknowledged that Westberry received an undisclosed grant of immunity for the illegal scrap metal business. Deputy Sheriff Taylor Douglas testified that the basis for eliminating Henry Jackson and Clayton Strickland as suspects was that they provided each other with an alibi, they went to their home early and slept. According to Deputy Douglas’ testimony, they each passed a polygraph; but so had Jody Wright.

The undisclosed police reports identified witnesses who provided information implicating Jackson and Strickland. Charlene Luce, a neighbor of Jackson and Strickland, said that on Friday, February 4, 1983, she saw Clayton in the yard. He was saying "he wasn’t scared of Leroy or Henry they may kill me but I’m not scared of anyone." Shortly thereafter, Henry came out into the yard brandishing a knife in his right hand. He was angry and told Charlene that "Strickland had his money and he wanted it."

On Saturday, February 5, 1983, Wanda Brown, a mail courier, was delivering mail. As she passed Ms. Smith’s house, she observed Ms. Smith "motioning with her hand" for Clayton Strickland to move away. Strickland then shook his arm at Ms. Smith. He then saw Ms. Brown and approached her. She realized he was drunk. He wanted to know if she had a check for him because he needed money. She indicated she had no mail for the Jackson mail box. He then asked her for money. Ms. Brown "became scared and drove away."

Kimberly Holt had been a cashier at the local supermarket and recalled an encounter with Jackson at around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 6, 1983. Jackson had scratch marks on his face. Ms. Holt was familiar with Jackson and the fact that he usually had no money. He said: "I got money today." He paid with a one hundred dollar bill and Ms. Holt could see another one in his wallet. Jackson then asked Ms. Holt if she knew that Ms. Smith was dead.

In her statement, Charlene Luce also reported seeing Jackson between 4:30 and 5:00 on Sunday, February 6, 1983. He told her that Ms. Smith had been killed. Ms. Luce "asked Jackson if he did it. He turned red in the face and turned away." Later, Jackson said that Ms. Smith had once given him a box of candy. He also told Ms. Luce that "Miss Smith told him that she didn’t kept [sic] money at home."

Also at the post-conviction hearing, William Bartley was called as a witness. He had been a state’s witness at trial. No one had asked him in 1983 about seeing Jackson and/or Strickland. However, he testified in 1988 that he recalled seeing Jackson and Strickland standing in the empty lot next to Ms. Smith’s house on Saturday night, February 5, 1983. The medical examiner had initially placed the time of death between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., after Mr. Wright was arrested he expanded the time range to run from 5:00p.m. until 5:00 a.m.