Innocent Denver Man Stephen Martinez Granted Freedom After 27 Years Of Imprisonment

A wrongfully convicted man from Denver has finally walked free after nearly 27 years in prison. Stephen Martinez, whose name was wrongly tied to the death of a baby, fought for justice for almost three decades. However, the joyous moment came only after years of struggles and sacrifices he had to endure.

In a recent pre-release interview, Martinez said the impact of his wrongful conviction would stay with him for the rest of his life. But he still hopes to start anew and move toward better days.

Speaking with PEOPLE, Martinez expressed happiness at finally being able to leave behind prison cells and razor wire. He discussed new beginnings and stated, “This feels wonderful, amazing, just an incredible feeling to be able to leave all that steel, concrete, razor wire behind and be made righteous and come back into society with a new beginning, a new start.”

The 58-year-old further reflected that while serving his sentence, he worked hard to improve his personal relationships. These included trying to become a better father and husband, while also striving to be a better person. Martinez also helped fellow prisoners who, like him, claimed they were wrongfully convicted.

In his words, “I devoted a lot of time to studying and reading, and you know getting a take on human nature, because I'd like to be able to take some online courses or maybe go to community college and become a counselor, maybe a mental health person, myself. I hope with what I learned now that I'm out here, I'll be able to be an advocate for people who are innocent.”

Back in 2000, Martinez was convicted in the death of baby Heather Mares. Court documents revealed that on Oct. 17, 1998, he called 911 to report that the child was choking. Martinez said he tried shaking the child when she cried and accidentally struck her head on the crib.

The child died, and Martinez was found guilty in her death. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole based on shaken baby syndrome. The 4-month-old infant, whom he was caring for on behalf of his girlfriend, was found to have a small linear fracture to her head.

Based on those medical findings, as well as one of Martinez’s self-incriminating statements during interrogation, he was convicted. But it was not true.

The outcome of the case changed when a new bench of four medical experts refuted the diagnoses so far for the shaken baby syndrome. These were outdated and did not align with modern scientific understanding.

Further investigation revealed that the infant had died from pneumonic complications and lung disease. It was not caused by the trauma after Martinez attempted to shake the choking baby. The fracture on her head was revealed to be caused by a prior accident and not caused near the time of her death.

Additionally, other evidence proved that the man’s self-incriminating statements during interrogation were false. Moreover, the jury was not presented with the existing medical history of the child.

Finally, the case against Martinez was overturned by Denver Judge Andrew Luxen, and he was released from prison. The death of the child was formally ruled as caused by pneumonia complications.

The credit for releasing Stephen Martinez has also been accrued to the Korey Wise Project. The legal clinic under the University of Colorado Law School helped gather evidence in support of the wrongly convicted man.