Tony Martin (farmer)
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Anthony Edward Martin (born 1944) is a farmer in Norfolk, England and a cause célèbre as a result of his shooting two burglars who were robbing his home; he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, but his conviction was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.
Martin lived in a run-down, isolated farmhouse in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, nick-named "Bleak House". He claimed to have been burgled several times and that in May 1999 lost £6,000 worth of furniture, and complained about police inaction on the burglaries. Police sources, however, are unsure that all the incidents took place[1]. His shotgun license was revoked in 1994 - five years before the shooting incident.
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[edit] Attempted burglary and manslaughter
On the night of August 20, 1999 two burglars, Brendon Fearon, 29, and Fred Barras, 16, entered Bleak House. They were shot by Martin; Fearon in the leg and Barras in the back, as they attempted to flee. Barras died in the grounds but Fearon was able to leave and got medical assistance. Martin subsequently left the farm and spent the night at a friend's house.
[edit] Burglary trial
On January 10 2000 Fearon and Darren Bark, 33, both from Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, admitted to conspiring to burgle Martin's farmhouse. Fearon was sentenced to three years in prison, and Bark to 30 months (with an additional 12 months arising from previous offences). Fearon was released on August 10 2001.
[edit] Murder trial
On April 10 2000 Martin was charged with the murder of Barras, the attempted murder of Fearon, wounding with intent to cause injury to Fearon, and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
At his trial, Martin claimed that on the night of August 20 1999, he was awakened by sounds in his home. He took his unlicenced shotgun and went downstairs, to be confronted, he claimed, by a torch being shone in his face[citation needed]. Fearon and Barras were stealing from the house. Martin opened fire three times on the two burglars as they attempted to flee, killing the youth, who was shot in the back, and injuring the older man. Martin was later arrested and charged with the murder of Barras and wounding Fearon with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Martin was bailed; it was claimed by police that there was information of a £60,000 contract on his head[citation needed].
The jury at the trial were told that they had the option of returning a verdict of manslaughter if they thought that Martin "did not intend to kill or cause serious bodily harm". However, they found Martin guilty of murder by a 10 to 2 majority. He was sentenced to life in prison, the mandatory sentence for murder. The case had attracted considerable media interest and the life sentence shocked many.
[edit] Appeal
An appeal was lodged and, in due course, was considered by three senior judges headed by Lord Lane.
Submissions by the defence that Martin had fired in self defence were rejected by the appeal court. However, on this occasion the defence submitted evidence that Martin suffered paranoid personality disorder specifically directed at anyone intruding into his home; this submission was accepted by the Court of Appeal and, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, Martin's murder conviction was replaced with manslaughter carrying a five year sentence, and his 10-year sentence for wounding Fearon cut to three years. Both sentences were to run concurrently.
[edit] Parole applications and release
Martin was imprisoned in Highpoint prison, Suffolk. When he became eligible for parole and early release the Parole Board rejected his application; probation officers on Martin's cases said there was an "unacceptable risk" that Martin might again react with excessive force if other would-be burglars intruded on his Norfolk farm.
The Sun newspaper ran a continuous campaign supporting Tony Martin, with one front-page headline (April 2 2000) stating that 55,000 readers had telephoned to indicate their support for him. On July 8 2003 they ran another full-page article headlined "Sun readers have risen in defence of decency", which included a personal letter of thanks from Martin.
On July 28, 2003 Martin was released after serving over three years of his five year sentence, the maximum period for which he could be held following good behaviour.
[edit] Aftermath
The family of Fearon applied for, and received, an estimated £5,000 of legal aid to sue Martin for loss of earnings due to the injury he sustained, but later dropped the case after it became clear that Fearon had never actually received any legitimate earnings[citation needed].
Martin sold his version of the story to the Daily Mirror for £100,000.
Since his release Martin has appeared on the platform of the United Kingdom Independence Party and has also endorsed the British National Party. Both parties have advocated changes in the law to stop prosecutions of people attacking intruders, as well as less restrictive firearm controls.
Tony Martin's case was one that polarised the media in the UK to a greater degree than would usually be seen. To the left-leaning papers, he was a trigger-happy and unstable xenophobe, who wilfully killed a fleeing boy; and to the right-wing papers, he is a wronged man and an example of how the British legal system supposedly punishes victims and rewards criminals.
[edit] The law
For a general discussion on the theory behind the law, see the theory of self-defence. For a more specific coverage of the issues, see self-defence in English law and defence of property.
