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Texas judge exonerates man accused in deadly house fire

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Garland "Butch" Martin was convicted of three counts of capital murder in 1999 for the February 1998 deaths of his wife, three-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter.  He was given three life sentences.  Prosecutors claimed, and the jury believed Martin had used an accelerant to set the fire himself.  His attorney Allison Clayton with the Innocence Project of Texas says Martin, a welder, was on a job site 20 minutes away when the first 9-1-1 call came in.  He came home and was so distraught that he was driven away from the scene so he wouldn't enter his burning home. Martin, who lived in a rural area, was then handcuffed and taken to a neighbor's home.  After running home a mile or so away he was then taken to a mental hospital and taken from there to testify in front of a grand jury.   "From there it goes all kinds of downhill."

Image: Rawf8/gettyImages

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