Forbidden, Dying for Love Premiered ‘Onward, Christian Soldier’ on ID: Fort Bragg Army MSgt William Wright Admitted Murdering Wife (June 29, 2019)

ID Go: While her husband serves in the army, a lonely married mother of three finds comfort in the arms of her church’s charismatic new minister. But danger looms in the form of a jealous love-rival that will stop at nothing to scare her away. -Onward, Christian Soldier, Forbidden: Dying for Love (S4,E4)

Forbidden: Dying for Love featured the Jennifer and William Wright 2002 homicide-suicide case on Investigation Discovery. ‘Onward, Christian Soldier’ highlighted the circumstances that lead to the murder of Jennifer Wright and the pain it inflicted on those who were left behind including their three sons. According to the show, William Wright was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina with his wife and three children. MSgt Wright was routinely deployed after 9/11/2001 and as a result he was never home. Bill’s absence was hard on Jennifer and the marriage. She wanted Bill to leave the Army but the Army was his life; it’s what he was meant to do. While Bill was deployed in Afghanistan, he learned that Jennifer was telling people back home that he divorced her.

Bill was stunned to learn the news and was granted leave to go back stateside and deal with his family crisis. Bill learned Jennifer was having an affair with the pastor at church and she wanted a divorce. Instead of salvaging his marriage, Bill murdered Jennifer in the family home on June 29, 2002 and covered it up. When investigators questioned Bill about Jennifer’s murder, he broke down and told them everything. Bill admitted he hit his wife with a baseball bat and then strangled her to death. He then put her body in a garbage bag and buried her in some woods near Fort Bragg. In 2003, William Wright was in prison awaiting trial when he died by suicide in his jail cell. Jennifer and William’s sons expressed concern that the Army’s anti-malaria drugs negatively impacted their father’s health and was most likely the reason this tragedy occurred.

This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. Rigoberto Nieves fatally shot his wife Teresa on June 11, 2002; Cedric Griffin fatally stabbed his wife Marilyn on July 9, 2002; Brandon Floyd fatally shot his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.

Source: ‘Onward, Christian Soldier’ Forbidden: Dying for Love

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.

Related Links:
Fort Bragg Soldier Admits To Wife’s Murder
Wives’ slayings shock Army at Fort Bragg
Soldiers kill wives after serving in Afghanistan
Murders shake US military
A Base Rocked by Violence
A War at Home | People
Blood on the Home Front | Time
Death in the Ranks at Fort Bragg
4 Wives Slain in 6 Weeks at Ft. Bragg
Fort Bragg’s Deadly Summer | Vanity Fair (December 2002)
Rash of Wife Killings at Ft. Bragg Leaves the Base Wondering Why
Suicide In Fort Bragg Jail (March 24, 2003)
Special Forces Soldier Hangs Himself
Third Bragg soldier took malaria drug
Special Forces soldier charged in wife’s slaying hangs himself
What to Watch on Saturday: A Fayetteville murder on ID, new movies from Hallmark and Lifetime
Onward, Christian Soldier | Forbidden: Dying for Love | Investigation Discovery (S4,E4)
Onward, Christian Soldier | Forbidden: Dying for Love | Investigation Discovery (website)
Onward, Christian Soldier | Forbidden: Dying for Love | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Violent Crime, Non Combat Death and Suicide at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (US Army)
Death on the Home Front (2009)
Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives by Tanya Biank (February 7, 2006)

S. 1789: Military Justice Improvement Act of 2019 Reintroduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York (June 13, 2019)

Bipartisan Support MJIA 2.jpg

Military Justice Improvement Act #PassMJIA

Sens. Cruz, Gillibrand Reintroduce Military Justice Improvement Act (June 13, 2019)

“U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and I today led a bipartisan group of senators to reintroduce the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would professionalize how the military prosecutes serious crimes by moving the decision over whether to prosecute them to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors.” –Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

The Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) of 2019 is sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and cosponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).

Editor’s Note: The below U.S. Senate list was compiled from the S. 967: MJIA of 2013 Senate Voting Record. The last time the Senate voted on the MJIA was March 6, 2014. Senator Gillibrand has reintroduced the MJIA every year since. Since 2014, the make-up of the Senate has changed. The still seated Senators who voted Yea and Nay in 2014 are listed as Yes and No in this list. The new senators who cosponsored the MJIA in 2019 have been added to the Yes list; the new Senators who stand with military brass (McSally & Ernst) have been added to the No list; and the rest of new Senators have been listed as unknown (Unk) because we don’t know how they will vote on this bill. Please contact your two Senators, these Senators, and both the SASC Members & HASC Members. Click on the Senator’s name and submit your support for the MJIA via the web or click on the Yes, Unk, or No to send them a message via Twitter. We provided an example tweet you can feel free to copy and paste or you can submit your own personalized message.

Example Tweet:

.@Sen_JoeManchin

Reasons we need your support:
1. Kamisha Block @USArmy: wp.me/p3XTUi-yc
2. Paige Briles #Army: wp.me/p3XTUi-5kn
3. Brandon Caserta @USNavy: wp.me/p3XTUi-8zg
4. @forthood Stateside Deaths: wp.me/p3XTUi-5oF

#PassMJIA @SASCDems

UNITED STATES SENATORS (2019)

C = Cosponsor of Military Justice Improvement Act
S = Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) Member

State District Name Party Vote
NH Sr, C, S Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Democratic Yes
VT Jr, C Sen. Bernard Sanders Independent Yes
MN Sr, C Sen. Amy Klobuchar Democratic Yes
TX Jr, C Sen. Ted Cruz Republican Yes
NM Jr, C, S Sen. Martin Heinrich Democratic Yes
MA Sr, C, S Sen. Elizabeth Warren Democratic Yes
HI Sr Sen. Brian Schatz Democratic Yes
NY Jr, C, S Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Democratic Yes
CA Sr, C Sen. Dianne Feinstein Democratic Yes
PA Sr, C Sen. Bob Casey Democratic Yes
CT Jr Sen. Chris Murphy Democratic Yes
HI Jr, C, S Sen. Mazie Hirono Democratic Yes
KY Sr Sen. Mitch McConnell Republican Yes
VT Sr, C Sen. Patrick Leahy Democratic Yes
DE Jr, C Sen. Chris Coons Democratic Yes
CO Sr, C Sen. Michael Bennet Democratic Yes
WA Sr Sen. Patty Murray Democratic Yes
IA Sr, C Sen. Charles Grassley Republican Yes
NJ Sr, C Sen. Bob Menendez Democratic Yes
OR Jr, C Sen. Jeffery Merkley Democratic Yes
ME Sr Sen. Susan Collins Republican Yes
IL Sr, C Sen. Richard Durbin Democratic Yes
WY Sr Sen. Michael Enzi Republican Yes
WA Jr Sen. Maria Cantwell Democratic Yes
MI Sr Sen. Debbie Stabenow Democratic Yes
NY Sr Sen. Charles Schumer Democratic Yes
OR Sr, C Sen. Ron Wyden Democratic Yes
OH Sr, C Sen. Sherrod Brown Democratic Yes
NJ Jr, C Sen. Cory Booker Democratic Yes
NM Sr, C Sen. Tom Udall Democratic Yes
KS Jr Sen. Jerry Moran Republican Yes
MD Sr Sen. Ben Cardin Democratic Yes
KY Jr, C Sen. Rand Paul Republican Yes
MA Jr, C Sen. Edward Markey Democratic Yes
AK Sr, C Sen. Lisa Murkowski Republican Yes
CT Sr, C, S Sen. Richard Blumenthal Democratic Yes
WI Jr, C Sen. Tammy Baldwin Democratic Yes
MN Jr, C Sen. Tina Smith Democratic Yes
NH Jr, C Sen. Maggie Hassan Democratic Yes
CA Jr, C Sen. Kamala Harris Democratic Yes
IL Jr, C, S Sen. Tammy Duckworth Democratic Yes
MD Jr Sen. Chris Van Hollen Democratic Unk
AK Jr, S Sen. Dan Sullivan Republican Unk
IN Jr Sen. Mike Braun Republican Unk
IN Jr Sen. Todd Young Republican Unk
NV Jr Sen. Jacky Rosen Democratic Unk
NV Jr Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto Democratic Unk
LA Jr Sen. John Kennedy Republican Unk
LA Jr Sen. Bill Cassidy Republican Unk
ND Jr, S Sen. Kevin Cramer Republican Unk
WV Jr Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Republican Unk
CO Jr Sen. Cory Gardner Republican Unk
AR Sr, S Sen. Tom Cotton Republican Unk
NE Jr Sen. Ben Sasse Republican Unk
SD Jr, S Sen. Mike Rounds Republican Unk
MT Jr Sen. Steve Daines Republican Unk
NC Jr, S Sen. Thom Tillis Republican Unk
TN Jr, S Sen. Marsha Blackburn Republican Unk
AZ Jr Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Democratic Unk
UT Jr Sen. Mitt Romney Republican Unk
GA Jr, S Sen. David Perdue Republican Unk
FL Jr, S Sen. Rick Scott Republican Unk
MO Jr, S Sen. Josh Hawley Republican Unk
MS Jr Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Republican Unk
MI Jr, S Sen. Gary Peters Democratic Unk
OK Jr Sen. James Lankford Republican Unk
AL Jr, S Sen. Doug Jones Democratic Unk
AZ Jr, S Sen. Martha McSally Republican No
IA Jr, S Sen. Joni Ernst Republican No
MT Sr Sen. Jon Tester Democratic No
ID Jr Sen. James Risch Republican No
FL Sr Sen. Marco Rubio Republican No
ND Sr Sen. John Hoeven Republican No
RI Jr Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Democratic No
WI Sr Sen. Ron Johnson Republican No
VA Sr Sen. Mark Warner Democratic No
SC Jr Sen. Timothy Scott Republican No
VA Jr, S Sen. Tim Kaine Democratic No
DE Sr Sen. Tom Carper Democratic No
NE Sr, S Sen. Deb Fischer Republican No
MS Sr, S Sen. Roger Wicker Republican No
ID Sr Sen. Mike Crapo Republican No
AL Sr Sen. Richard Shelby Republican No
ME Jr, S Sen. Angus King Independent No
RI Sr, S Sen. Jack Reed Democratic No
MO Sr Sen. Roy Blunt Republican No
TN Sr Sen. Lamar Alexander Republican No
SD Sr Sen. John Thune Republican No
UT Sr Sen. Mike Lee Republican No
PA Jr Sen. Patrick Toomey Republican No
OH Jr Sen. Rob Portman Republican No
TX Sr Sen. John Cornyn Republican No
NC Sr Sen. Richard Burr Republican No
SC Sr Sen. Lindsey Graham Republican No
OK Sr, S Sen. Jim Inhofe Republican No
KS Sr Sen. Pat Roberts Republican No
WY Jr Sen. John Barrasso Republican No
WV Sr, S Sen. Joe Manchin Democratic No
GA Sr Sen. Johnny Isakson Republican No
AR Sr Sen. John Boozman Republican No

Related Links:
S. 967: Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 – U.S. Senate Voting Record (March 6, 2014)
Pass the Military Justice Improvement Act @SenGillibrand
S. 1789: Military Justice Improvement Act of 2019
S. 1789: Military Justice Improvement Act of 2019 [Full Text]
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2019 Would Remove Decisions on Sexual Assault from the Chain of Command
Sen. Martha McSally’s stunning rape revelation shocks Capitol Hill, prompts calls for military justice reform
Presidential candidate, Army veteran Tulsi Gabbard says military sexual assault is ‘rampant,’ at SXSW town hall
Bringing MST home, to Congress
Senator Renews Push to Distance Commanders from Military Prosecutions
Bills Pending US Congress Senate Armed Services Committee
Shanahan calls for reforms as military sexual assaults rise by 38%; highest for young women
2020 Democrats say they have plans to address military sexual assault crisis
Gillibrand re-introduces military justice bill
Sens. Cruz, Gillibrand Reintroduce Military Justice Improvement Act
Udall, Heinrich Reintroduce Military Justice Improvement Act To Address Crisis Of Military Sexual Assault
Leahy Joins Gillibrand And Others To Reintroduce Military Justice Improvement Act
Hirono Wants To Change How The Military Prosecutes Sexual Assault
Senator Martha McSally’s Responsibility to Survivors of Military Sexual Assault
McSally defends keeping military commanders involved in sexual assault cases
Gillibrand: “Status Quo” Not Working With Military Sexual Assaults
Senate Armed Services Committee Members & House Armed Services Committee Members (June 21, 2019)