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09/05/2003
No early parole for farmer who shot teenage burglar
A parole appeal lodged by the farmer who shot dead a teenager who was burgling his home has been turned down in the High Court.
Tony Martin (58) had lodged the appeal after the parole board refused to grant him early release from prison. Martin will now have to wait until he becomes eligible for parole in July this year.
Rejecting Martin’s appeal against the parole board decision, Mr Justice Maurice Kay said there were no grounds for the legal challenge.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Kay said that from the reports considered, Martin was unrepentant and was therefore likely to reoffend if given early parole.
Martin, who was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting dead a 16-year-old who broke into his farmhouse, had his sentence reduced to five years when the charge against him was reduced to one of manslaughter.
Martin, currently serving his sentence in Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, has served two-thirds of his sentence for the shooting which occurred in his remote Norfolk farmhouse in 1999.
Fred Barras (16) died and an accomplice, Brendon Fearon (33), was wounded in the leg when Martin opened fire with an illegally held pump action shotgun, after the two broke into his semi-derelict dwelling.
The case prompted a fierce debate on the right to self-defence and the right to defend property against criminals.
Fearon was granted legal-aid in a bid to claim damages, but the case failed last month.
Fearon, who has multiple convictions for burglary and was jailed for his part in the attempted robbery of Martin’s farmhouse, claimed that the shooting had affected his sex life and caused post-traumatic stress.
(SP)
Tony Martin (58) had lodged the appeal after the parole board refused to grant him early release from prison. Martin will now have to wait until he becomes eligible for parole in July this year.
Rejecting Martin’s appeal against the parole board decision, Mr Justice Maurice Kay said there were no grounds for the legal challenge.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Kay said that from the reports considered, Martin was unrepentant and was therefore likely to reoffend if given early parole.
Martin, who was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting dead a 16-year-old who broke into his farmhouse, had his sentence reduced to five years when the charge against him was reduced to one of manslaughter.
Martin, currently serving his sentence in Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, has served two-thirds of his sentence for the shooting which occurred in his remote Norfolk farmhouse in 1999.
Fred Barras (16) died and an accomplice, Brendon Fearon (33), was wounded in the leg when Martin opened fire with an illegally held pump action shotgun, after the two broke into his semi-derelict dwelling.
The case prompted a fierce debate on the right to self-defence and the right to defend property against criminals.
Fearon was granted legal-aid in a bid to claim damages, but the case failed last month.
Fearon, who has multiple convictions for burglary and was jailed for his part in the attempted robbery of Martin’s farmhouse, claimed that the shooting had affected his sex life and caused post-traumatic stress.
(SP)
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