Garland "Butch" Martin was convicted of three counts of capital murder in 1999 for the February 1998 deaths of his wife, three-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter. He was given three life sentences. Prosecutors claimed, and the jury believed Martin had used an accelerant to set the fire himself.
His attorney Allison Clayton with the Innocence Project of Texas says Martin, a welder, was on a job site 20 minutes away when the first 9-1-1 call came in. He came home and was so distraught that he was driven away from the scene so he wouldn't enter his burning home. Martin, who lived in a rural area, was then handcuffed and taken to a neighbor's home. After running home a mile or so away he was then taken to a mental hospital and taken from there to testify in front of a grand jury. "From there it goes all kinds of downhill."
She says the state tested the fire debris which indicated the presence of accelerant which led to the murder charge. Additionally a pathologist testified there was brain swelling to the boy and mother.
Clayton says one of the biggest areas of science to evolve in the past two decades is arson science. The accelerants found in the debris are essentially everywhere. "These chemicals are actually present in a ton of everyday household items...linoleum...receipt paper. The test they used in fire debris analysis is super sensitive. They didn't understand how sensitive it was. It only takes one 500ths of a drop of these chemicals to test positive for the presence of accelerants in fire debris."
She says what they once thought was an indicator of an intentionally placed accelerant "we came to understand is common in the fire of any house fire."
She and other attorneys made their way to the state fire marshal who put together a panel of unpaid experts. "They all looked at the evidence and said this fire was not intentional. We cannot say this is an intentionally set fire. The only reason we can't say this is what caused the fire, which we're pretty sure is a faulty electrical cord, is because the original fire investigator threw it away."
There was a freezer on the back porch. It was plugged into an outlet in the kitchen, via an electrical cord that also ran through a bedroom.
They believe the cord shorted out and that's what started the fire.
Clayton says witness testimony from experts at trial regarding trauma has been debunked. One doctor who testified later lost his medical license and served time in federal prison. The other expert who testified against Martin submitted an affidavit to the court saying that after reading the transcript, he was "deeply disturbed" when he realized his testimony had been misconstrued.
It's now up to the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin to make a move. They will take the trial court recommendation into consideration, but are not under a deadline, so this case could drag on for years. She says the state has indicated they will oppose bond.
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