Overview
- Stephen Martinez, 58, was released Tuesday after Judge Andrew Luxen dismissed his 2000 murder conviction in the 1998 death of 4-month-old Heather Mares.
- Defense lawyers with the Korey Wise Innocence Project presented new findings that severe pneumonia or lung disease best explains symptoms once attributed to abuse, and the Denver DA said independent experts largely agreed.
- The Denver medical examiner who conducted the 1998 autopsy recently acknowledged reasonable doubt about the cause of death, and prosecutors said they could no longer prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Acting under Rule 35(c), which lets courts revisit convictions when new evidence shows a fundamental flaw, the judge found the new medical evidence likely would have changed the original verdict.
- Heather’s relatives pleaded in court to keep the conviction in place, opposing the ruling as Martinez left prison after roughly 27 years.