Martin's friend calls for pardon

The farmer says he acted in self-defence

A friend of jailed Norfolk farmer Tony Martin says the decision to reduce his sentence is a partial victory, but would prefer to have him freed on a pardon.

Malcolm Starr called for a pardon for Martin, saying he was very disappointed that his friend was still in jail.

"It is cruel and petty to do this to the man after what he has been through," Mr Starr said.

"The legal system needs a rethink on this," he said.

"I feel The Queen should come into this and give him a Queen's pardon."

Friends say he has stayed in prison long enough

He said the decision to reduce the sentence was "a bit of good luck after all the bad luck he has had."

Martin was originally convicted of murder at Norwich Crown Court in April 2000, after he shot and killed 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras from Newark.

But the Appeal Court, headed by Lord Woolf, reduced Martin's murder conviction to manslaughter, cut his sentence to five years and said he was eligible for parole in a year.

Bleak House

Martin has always maintained he acted in self-defence.

His supporters have claimed throughout the debate on his conviction that the court had punished an innocent man for simply defending himself.

Mr Starr said: "I don't think he will be able to cope. This will be the worst year of his life apart from the experience he had on that night."

The shooting happened at Martin's dilapidated farm, Bleak House, at Emneth Hungate, Norfolk.

The appeal judges accepted new psychiatric evidence that Martin was suffering from a paranoid personality disorder.