The Fire Folklore that Convicted Butch Martin - The Conclusion

Episode 98

In 1999, Garland “Butch” Martin was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Marcia Poole, and her two young children, Brady and Kristin, and was sentenced on three counts of capital murder in Midland, Texas. The State told a compelling story: domestic abuse, accelerant-driven fire, pre-fire blunt force trauma, and motive. A jury believed it.

Twenty-four years later, Butch Martin was exonerated.

In Part Two of this two-part series, April breaks down what the jury didn’t hear: conflicting fire science, flawed forensic anthropology testimony, discarded physical evidence, and the physics of fire that contradict the State’s entire arson-murder theory. We examine the defense, the appellate process, modern NFPA-aligned fire investigation principles, and how the work of Dr. Gerald Hurst and John Lentini unraveled the narrative.

Because before you can call something arson-murder, you have to prove arson — and in this case, there is zero credible evidence that this fire was intentionally set.

In this episode we cover:

• The defense’s accidental fire theory

• Conflicting chemical analysis (Norpar & “deparaffinated kerosene”)

• What Dr. Gerald Hurst and John Lentini found years later

• Why NFPA 921 rejects “pour pattern” folklore

• The missing extension cord and freezer on the back porch

• 40 mph winds and the physics problem for the State’s origin theory

• Cerebral edema vs. “blunt force trauma”

• Anthropologist vs. medical examiner expertise boundaries

• The appellate court’s reasoning for exoneration

• How wrongful arson convictions keep happening

When you strip away mythology and examine only evidence, this case collapses. Every credible data point points to an accidental fire — and an innocent man lost 24 years of his life.

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Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:
Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

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Sources: Please see the source list from Episode 97.