Jason’s sister posts petition in protest at plea deal offer
THE sister of slain Jason Corbett has asked people to sign a petition in protest at a plea deal offered to his killers, Molly and Tom Martens.
Tracey Corbett Lynch, who is legal guardian to Jason’s two young children, is seeking a retrial for the Martens on murder charges, rather than a manslaughter plea deal.
The move could see Molly, 37, and Tom, 71, released in two years, which means they will have served less than six years in prison.
The Martens were jailed in 2017 for the murder of Molly’s then husband Jason, 39, in the couple’s home in North Carolina in 2015.
A court last month ordered a retrial and thousands of people had last night signed a petition started by Tracey to have the plea deal for the Martens p ulled.
‘If you could please sign #Jasonsjourney Retrial for Molly and Tom Martens - Sign the Petition!’ she wrote, with a link to a petition on the website Change.org.
The petition states that the plea deal is a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and ‘only adds further pain and disdain to a family still grieving the loss of a loved one’.
Ms Corbett Lynch flew to America in the wake of last month’s North Carolina Supreme Court decision overturning the Martens’ murder convictions.
She met with the Davidson County district attorney last Friday. He explained why he had to offer a plea deal after the Supreme Court’s strident criticism of how the trial judge oversaw the 2017 murder trial.
Yesterday, she praised a local TV station in North Carolina for continuing to cover the case.
‘Thanks to Fox 8 for highlighting our views. The local community in Davidson County have always been hugely supportive of us. It’s important the people of North Carolina know exactly what’s happening here,’ Tracey wrote online.
Last month, Ms Corbett Lynch and her husband, David Lynch, the legal guardians of Jason’s children, Jack and Sarah, expressed their horror at the Supreme Court decision. ‘We are so disappointed and distraught that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has decided to grant a retrial to Tom and Molly Martens who admitted killing our beloved Jason...’