The Tony Martin Story
Farmer Tony Martin became
a focus of huge national debate after shooting
dead a teenager who was burgling his home. The
incident ignited a furore in Britain over issues
such as rural crime and the rights to defend
property. Many vigorously supported the then
54-year-old, but others dismissed him as a
violent eccentric who chose to act as a
vigilante. The case continues to attract
controversy, with the ongoing attempts of Brendon
Fearon, an accomplice of the teenage burglar, to
sue Martin for injuries sustained during the
incident. The episode began in August 1999 when
16-year-old Fred Barras, and 33-year-old Fearon,
broke into Martin's remote, semi-derelict
farmhouse in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk.
Martin's farm was extremely remote and had been
burgled many times
Martin, who was in the house at the time, opened
fire with an illegally-held pump-action shotgun.
Barras was shot in the back and died at the
scene, while Fearon was shot in the leg and
recovered after treatment in hospital. Three days
later, Martin was taken into police custody and
charged with murder and wounding with intent. The
case caused an immediate furore, with local
supporters protesting outside the remand hearing.
It became apparent that Martin's orchard farm and
home, called Bleak House, had been plagued by
crime for years.
Martin had been burgled so many times that he had
set up an elaborate network of look-out ladders
and traps, even removing a stair to hinder
intruders. Three months before the shooting,
crooks had broken into the house and taken
£6,000 worth of furniture. Burglar Fred Barras,
16, was killed while fleeing Martin's house
Martin distrusted the police and was said to have
begun fearing for his life. He slept with his
clothes and boots on and reportedly kept his gun
primed and ready by his bedside. When his trial
began in April 2000 Martin argued that he had
genuinely been acting in self-defence. But it
emerged the pair had been shot as they tried to
flee through a window.
Jurors also heard that Martin had a history of
gun-related misbehaviour, including firing upon a
car six years before - an incident which led to
his shotgun certificate being revoked. Fearon,
who was injured, tried to sue Martin for loss of
earnings Norwich Crown Court decided he had gone
beyond self-defence, and convicted him of murder
- for which he was automatically sentenced to
life. The verdict sparked even more argument,
with campaigners calling it
"monstrous". Martin received thousands
of supportive letters in prison. He began an
appeal immediately. In court he argued he had
suffered from a paranoid personality disorder
which diminished his responsibility.
His barrister told the court Martin had suffered
sexual abuse as a child and "considered
himself a boy of about ten". The court found
in Martin's favour and in October 2001 his
offence was downgraded to manslaughter and his
sentence reduced to five years. But the
controversy did not end there. Fearon, who had
more than 30 criminal convictions, is now trying
to sue Martin for damages as a result of being
shot. He has asked for a reported £15,000 for
loss of earnings, claiming he can no longer enjoy
sex or bear to see shootings on television.
Fearon is himself currently in jail, after being
convicted in February of this year on drugs
charges and jailed for 18 months.
The case is likely to be heard once both Fearon
and Martin have been freed. Martin has also
continued to make front pages as he has wrestled
with the parole board for early release from
prison. He is due for automatic release on 28
July, when he will have served two-thirds of his
sentence, but this could have been brought
forward to as early as September last year. The
parole board, however, has continually refused
him early release - saying he has shown no
remorse and would continue to pose a danger to
any other burglars. Martin argues he has made
plans to ensure peace and security on his
eventual return home.
He has discussed protecting his home with
electronic gates and an air raid siren, and has
been given a specific police contact to call in
case of trouble. This has not stopped
commentators worrying that he will therefore be
vulnerable to revenge attacks from Fearon's
supporters - who have reportedly put a bounty on
his head, worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Tony
Martin has been B-tested by police three times in
three months. Martin was pulled up for going too
slowly in a 30mph zone just before midnight. He
had previously been stopped for driving too near
the kerb and having a noisy exhaust. Martin said,
"It's absolutely ridiculous. I think I'd
been stopped about twice in 40 years, now all of
a sudden I've been breathalysed three times in
three months." Each time, he had just left a
pub and each time the test was negative. Police
said of the series of B-test stops, "We do
not keep records of negative breathalyser
tests."
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