Tony Martin will die before he could possibly be executed. That really left us no choice but to drop the death penalty request and seek life without parole. Martin is charged in connection with the 1996 slaying of Castleton businessman David Loggins and the wounding of his son, John. Police say Martin arranged for another man to kill Loggins, to whom he owed money in a business deal. Defense lawyers welcomed the move to dismiss the death penalty but questioned why it took so long for prosecutors to reach that decision.
Court rules require jurors to be sequestered in a hotel during breaks in the trial.
A representative for the Loggins family said it had no objections to dropping the death penalty. Martin has been held in Wishard Memorial Hospital, but his placement has been disputed by lawyers for Wishard and Marion County. His care is expensive, and Wishard says he does not require critical care and should be moved to a different facility. The Sheriff's Department counters that it cannot properly care for him at the Marion County Jail. Marion Superior Court Judge Tanya Walton-Pratt scheduled an emergency hearing for this morning to determine where he should be held until and during his trial.