In 1999, after years of persecution by local burglars, farmer Tony Martin shot and killed a teenager, Fred Barras, and wounded another man one night as they attempted to steal antiques from his lonely Norfolk farmhouse. In Court Mr Martin said that he opened fire on the burglars in self-defence, but the jury did not accept this, preferring to believe the prosecution’s case that shooting Fred Barras in the back, as he was trying to leave, was evidence of unreasonable force.
In 2000, Tony Martin was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, six months later, after an appeal by his lawyers, Mr Martin’s conviction was reduced to manslaughter and his sentence to three years’ imprisonment. In 2003, Tony Martin was released from custody.