The Wright Withheld Report

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Five pages of the Wright police report were withheld from the Defense. Because they contain the the names of 3 other innocent suspects, they have not been published. According to the defense, there were several reasons the report was withheld:

The report listed other suspects. This contradicted Eskridge's "single perpetrator theory" where he led the media and the courts to believe that John Ewing was the long hunted "serial rapist." In reality, Eskridge, according to the withheld Wright police report, had found at least 3 other men that "fit the description" and "made good suspects" in the Wright case.

Another reason for withholding the Wright police report was to hide the fact that Eskridge departed radically from the rules in the way he targeted his new suspect, Ewing. Each of the former suspects had been read his rights per Miranda and had been given an opportunity to call an attorney. When the case remained unsolved for years, Eskridge tried other tactics. He tricked Ewing into coming to the police station, he locked him in an interrogation room, he wouldn't let him leave without taking his picture, he held a private photo show-up, he never told Ewing he was a suspect, never Mirandized him, never allowed him to call an attorney.

Don Ferris, Ewing's attorney, stated years later that without the 5 page Wright report he was severely handicapped in challenging Eskridge's arrest and photo tactics.