LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) - A former FBI agent who was convicted of murdering his son in law in North Carolina will not get to leave prison because of the risk of getting coronavirus.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that a judge denied the request on Tuesday.
Thomas Michael Martens was convicted of murdering son-in-law Jason Corbett. Martens’ attorneys argued that the 70-year-old was at great risk of contracting COVID-19 at a state prison where he’s serving up to 25 years.
Judge Mark Klass of Davidson Superior Court denied Martens’ request after hearing arguments in court on Tuesday.
Martens and daughter Molly Corbett were convicted in 2017 of second-degree murder. They were accused of beating Jason Corbett to death. Both claimed self-defense.
Meanwhile, an appeal is pending at the state’s Supreme Court over a lower appeals court ruling to overturn the convictions of Martens and his daughter
Tracey Corbett Lynch, Jason Corbett’s sister, praised the judge’s decision on Tuesday to keep Marens in prison. She said in a statement that the family “considered the very notion of seeking such a temporary release to be insulting to Jason’s memory.”
Michael Earnest, Martens’ brother-in-law, said he and the rest of the family are disheartened by the decision to keep him in prison.
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