Brendan Fearon, shot by farmer Tony Martin in 1999, expresses a lack of anger after Martin’s recent death at 80.
The shooting was back in 1999. Fearon said it didn’t stop his crime at first. He is 54 now. He told the Mirror he is reformed, saying Martin’s death was “sad,” calling it the “end of a chapter.” Fearon thinks Martin also suffered a lot.
The shooting happened at Martin’s isolated home. Fearon said, “I feel for him and his family.” Fearon got hurt in the raid. Fred Barras, age 16, was killed. Martin was jailed for Barras’ murder. The crime sparked a national debate then.
Fearon still feels “terrible pain.” Bullets wounded both his legs. He said life was cruel to Fred, saying Fred lost his life that night. “I never felt bitter toward the farmer,” he said. Martin did what he thought he must. He protected himself and his place. Fearon added, “I have no anger.”
The pair broke into Martin’s home in 1999. Martin was convicted of murder in 2000. The conviction changed to manslaughter later. The farmer said he acted to defend himself back then. Prosecutors said he waited for them instead. He went to jail for three years and was freed in 2003.
The case changed the law on self-defense. Martin felt no remorse. He never went back to his home, which was named “Bleak House.” Martin died after a stroke he had last December. Someone told Fearon that Martin died, calling it “the best thing for him.” Fearon didn’t agree with them.
Fearon called Fred a “good-hearted little rogue.” He said Martin’s death was sad. “He wasn’t the only one to blame,” Fearon said. He added, “He lived to a good old age.” Fearon feared he would die in the attack long ago. He had surgery to fix one shattered leg, with the other leg still having a “huge gaping hole.”
His injuries didn’t stop his life of crime then. He went to prison for heroin, car theft, and other offenses. Fearon said it was because of the shooting that he couldn’t work. But he admitted he was a “bad lad.” He has been out of trouble for 20 years now, and he says crime does not pay.
The case’s stigma still haunts him now. He thinks people still judge him. Fearon lives in Nottinghamshire. He left his criminal past behind now, and he wants no trouble. He did labor, carpet fitting, and sales jobs. He wants a job but cannot get one because people know who he is nowadays.
Fearon’s family is very important to him. He feels bad for Fred’s mom. She lost her only son, a kid then. Jail finally changed him for the better. He stopped crime because it would hurt Fred, and he stopped for himself and his family. He stopped in Fred’s memory, he said.
He said he had “no intention” to rob the farmer. “I was going to help Fred sell stolen stuff,” he recalled. Fearon said at the time he was a dad himself, and he wanted to get Fred a good price. They trespassed, and the driver escaped, then the farmer shot at them with Fearon feeling a flash of light.
Fearon got shot in the leg, thinking a dog bit him initially. He started rolling and kept thinking of his kids. He reached a house after an escape. An elderly couple helped him there. He had no idea Fred was dead then. The farmer left him alone, he thought later.
He learned Fred died in the hospital. He thought Martin’s sentence was too much. A year would have been better, he said. Jail would have hurt Martin, in his opinion. Fearon spent weeks in a hospital at that time and had plastic surgery because he could have lost his leg.
He reconstructed his left leg. His right leg has a hole that burns. Fearon attended Fred’s funeral. Family warned him not to go, fearing people would blame him then. Fred looked up to him at all times. Fearon didn’t know he would rob a man that day.
He wishes Fred never died because it makes him feel awful. Fred was no angel, but he would do anything for you though. During jail for the raid, he wrote his thoughts. His memoir is titled: “Is Killing for your Castle Justified?” He hopes one day it will get shared.
