User:JAYFAX/Death of Fred Barras

On 20 August 1999, Fred Barras, a 16-year-old Irish Traveller, was shot dead by Tony Martin, a 54-year-old farmer, when Barras intruded Martin's home in a burglary in accomplice with 29-year-old Brendon Fearon who was wounded from shots, and 33-year-old Darren Bark who fled the scene while acting as a getaway driver. There was much sympathy for Martin and enthusiastic support for the right to defend one's own home. However, Martin did not hold a valid firearms certificate, and there was difficulty determining whether he lawfully acted in self-defence or had laid in waiting. He did not give a verbal warning, and forensic evidence suggested he did not fire from a defensive position. Martin was convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and served three years in prison, having been denied parole. Fearon was sentenced to three years in prison, and Bark to two-and-half years, both for conspiracy to commit burglary.