Anthony Edward Martin (born 1944) is a Norfolk farmer and cause célèbre as a result of his action in 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 had been burgled several times and in May 1999 had apparently lost £6,000 worth of furniture. He complained about police inaction on the burglaries. His shotgun license was revoked in 1994.
On the night of August 20, 1999 two burglars, Brendon Fearon, 29, and Fred Barras, 16, entered Bleak House. In the darkness of the night Martin fired his shotgun, wounding both of the intruders; Fearon in the leg, Barras in the back. Barras died in the grounds, though Fearon was able to leave and got medical assistance. Martin subsequently left the farm and spent the night at a friend's house.
On 10 January 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, Bark to 30 months (with an additional 12 months from previous offences). Fearon was released on 10 August 2001.
On 10 April 2000 Martin was charged with murder (of Barras), attempted murder (of Fearon), wounding with intent to cause injury (of 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 shotgun and came downstairs, he claimed, to be confronted by a torch being shone in his face. A 29 year old man, Brendon Fearon, and an accomplice of 16, Fred Barras, were stealing from the house. Martin fired three shots in the dark and in doing so killed the youth, and injured the older man. Martin was later arrested and charged with the murder of Barras and the wounding of Fearon with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Martin was bailed; it was claimed by police that there was information of an underworld contract on his head for £60,000.
The jury at the trial found Martin guilty of murder by a 10 to 2 majority. They had been told that they had the option of returning a verdict of manslaughter if they thought that Tony Martin "did not intend to kill or cause serious bodily harm".
Martin was sentenced to life in prison, the mandatory sentence for murder. The case had attracted considerable media interest and the life sentence shocked many.
An appeal was lodged and, in due course, Martin's appeal went before three senior judges headed by Lord Lane.
Martin's case was highlighted by William Hague, then leader of the Tories. Hague's actions arguably contributed to his growing image as the opportunist 'Billy Bandwagon' as it was thought Martin's case had little appeal beyond the Tory 'core vote'.
Submissions by the defence that Martin had fired in self defence were rejected by the appeal court. But 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 vacated and replaced with manslaughter carrying a five year sentence, and his 10-year sentence for wounding the Fearon cut to three years, to run concurrently.
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.
Martin stated that he would do the same thing again if he encountered the same circumstances.
The Sun newspaper ran a continuous campaign supporting Tony Martin, with one front-page headline (2nd April 2000) stating that 55,000 readers had telephoned their support for him. On the 8th July 2003 they ran another full-page article (p.9) with the headline Sun readers have risen in defence of decency, with a personal letter of thanks from Martin, and picture.
On July 28, 2003 Martin was released after serving over three years of his five year sentence, the maximum he could be held for given good behaviour, three days after Fearon was released from a drugs conviction, on the earliest date possible[citation needed]. The contrast led to another public outcry.
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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_(farmer)