:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/FRR5ZAGOBBCWNEOZLX2R7NIZ24.JPG)
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/06b1d091-4897-4dce-b93a-f7b343434e87.png)
In the end, the prison authorities in North Carolina attributed the chaos and confusion over what appeared to be the impending imminent release of high-profile prisoners Molly Martens Corbett and her father Thomas to an error.
It had not been a calendar month since the two were led away from a courtroom in North Carolina in handcuffs after accepting responsibility for the killing of Limerick man Jason Corbett in 2015. But for most of Monday, it appeared they would both be out of prison by this weekend.
Some who watched the ten-day sentencing hearing in Lexington in North Carolina in November had forecast that they would be set free next summer – the earliest time permitted based on a reading of the order of the judge in the case.
The release of Molly Martens Corbett and her father before Christmas seemed incredible.
:quality(70):focal(3575x1850:3585x1860)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7KHAA5CJLFGFDD6PZOMA56SEBQ.JPG)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZZ5D6KGLT5LEKAKU4OPKVSBJX4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/BZJAJHHWCBIJRWLNOU4CYPHE6A.jpg)
:quality(70):focal(5355x2804:5365x2814)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SOWPF4XYVVB4FJJEE5FJIXEBBU.JPG)
Martens Corbett had accepted a plea deal with prosecutors in October under which she did not contest a charge of voluntary manslaughter for the death of her husband, Jason. Thomas Martens, the father-in-law of Jason Corbett, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
After the sentencing hearing, the two were ordered to serve a minimum of 54 months and a maximum of 74 months.
However, they were always going to spend far less time than that in prison.
The news of the imminent release of Molly Martens Corbett and her father generated considerable media interest in North Carolina from local TV channels and newspapers
The Martens had originally been convicted of second-degree murder in 2017 and sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in jail.
However, they were released after serving 44 months when the convictions were quashed by an appeals court, a move later upheld by the supreme court in North Carolina.
The plea agreement reached with prosecutors in October meant that there would be no retrial. It was just a question of the judge deciding how long more they would spend behind bars.
Ostensibly the judge’s decision meant they would have to serve between seven and 30 additional months behind bars.
There was then consternation on Monday when a court website indicated that Molly Martens Corbett and her father were about to be imminently released.
[ Molly and Thomas Martens to remain in jail until ‘mid-2024’ as US prison authorities change stance ]
But it was not just a line on a website.
On Monday a spokesman for the North Carolina department of adult correction said that Thomas Martens would be released on Tuesday, December 5th and Molly Martens, a day later on Wednesday.
This was followed up by a written statement sent by the department of adult correction just before 3.30pm local time on Monday. This again restated the release dates for the two and also maintained that this would be followed by a 12-month period of supervision by a probation/parole officer.
The news of the imminent release of Molly Martens Corbett and her father generated considerable media interest in North Carolina from local TV channels and newspapers.
However, it was nothing to the outrage that was felt among the family of Jason Corbett in Ireland. They had sat through every minute of the two-week sentencing hearing and had listened to lawyers for the Martens claim that Jason Corbett had been an abusive and coercive husband. They also suggested that he had murdered his first wife – who authorities in Ireland maintained had died following an asthma attack in 2006.
Only at the very end of the proceedings did the family have an opportunity to speak out to rebut the claims made by the Martens.
On Monday the Corbett family said they said they were “appalled” at the announcement of the imminent release of the Martens.
In Davidson county in North Carolina the office of the district attorney – the chief prosecutor in the case – was bombarded by calls both from the media and people in Ireland expressing anger at the developments.
The district attorney Garry Frank said that he had no input into the timing of the release of Molly Martens Corbett and her father.
The actual decision is taken by a body known as the combined records department of the department of adult correction.
Mr Frank said that this was an administrative body that interpreted the committal papers drawn up by the sentencing judge and gave credit for time already served in prison or any period in custody while awaiting trial.
He said it was the role of the combined records department to calculate the length of the sentence and the appropriate release date.
Mr Frank said he believed the Corbett family had not been informed about the planned releases given the calls being made to his office.
About two hours after the initial written statement from the department of adult correction, there were signals that things were changing
A local newspaper the Winston Salem Journal, reported that the Martens had been moved from the state prisons back to a jail in Davidson county to prepare for their release. It said their lawyers had been informed about the plan as had Sharon Martens, mother of Molly and wife of Thomas.
The Winston Salem Journal highlighted the comments of the Corbett family in Ireland to the news – including claims that at one point attempts were made to bring the State department in Washington, which handles American diplomacy across the world, into the case.
However, it also said, “The flip side, of course, is that a second family suffered the same roller coaster of emotions. Sharon Martens had been treated for cancer and suffered serious health challenges in recent years.”
[ Molly Martens didn’t just kill her husband, she assassinated his reputation ]
About two hours after the initial written statement from the department of adult correction, there were signals that things were changing.
The organisation said that its first statement should be now treated with caution.
Eventually at 7.10pm local time, it issued a second formal statement saying that the Martens would not be walking out of prison.
“After further review, the initial projected release dates calculated in response to resentencing for Molly Corbett and Thomas Martens were found to be incorrect. The current projected release dates for both are June 27, 2024. Corbett and Martens will be transferred to state prison facilities to complete the remainder of their sentences.”
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date