After spending nearly three decades behind bars for a crime he insists he never committed, Stephen Martinez is finally free — and now trying to rebuild the life he lost.
Martinez was convicted in 2000 in the death of 4-month-old Heather Mares and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
At the time, prosecutors argued Martinez caused the baby’s death after he admitted during police questioning that he had shaken the child and accidentally hit her head against a crib while trying to calm her.
But years later, Martinez completely recanted those statements and insisted he had falsely confessed under pressure.
Now, after 27 years behind bars, a Denver judge has officially overturned his conviction after new medical evidence suggested the baby may have actually died from complications related to pneumonia — not abuse.
“This feels wonderful, amazing,” Martinez said after finally walking free.
“To leave all that steel, concrete, razor wire behind and come back into society with a new beginning, a new start.”
The case was reexamined with help from the Korey Wise Innocence Project, which spent years fighting to overturn Martinez’s conviction.
Experts working on the case argued modern medical science no longer supported the theory that the child died from shaking injuries.
Court filings also revealed that the baby reportedly suffered respiratory illness throughout her short life.
Medical experts later concluded that a skull fracture found during the autopsy may have happened weeks before her death and was not necessarily linked to abuse.
The new findings eventually convinced prosecutors and independent experts to reconsider the case.
Denver District Attorney John Walsh later admitted multiple credible medical experts challenged the original findings used to convict Martinez.
After decades locked away, Martinez says the world outside prison feels almost unrecognizable.
He admitted adjusting to modern technology and smartphones has been overwhelming at times — but also exciting.
“It’s been challenging, and fun, and sometimes frustrating,” he said. “This whole new world changed and left me behind.”
Despite losing nearly 30 years of his life, Martinez says he focused on improving himself while in prison and now hopes to help other wrongfully convicted people rebuild their lives.
He says he wants to eventually study counseling or mental health work so he can advocate for innocent people trapped in the justice system.
Martinez has also reunited with family members and reconnected with the woman who is now his wife.
Incredibly, the two reportedly found each other again in 2023 after a relative accidentally walked into the wrong building during a medical appointment.
Martinez called the reunion “divine intervention.”
His attorney, Jeanne Segil, described him as one of the most resilient people she has ever met.
During the years she fought for his freedom, Martinez endured devastating personal hardships, including losing his mother and undergoing a leg amputation.
Still, she said he somehow managed to remain positive through it all.
“I’m just in awe of his spirit and his resiliency,” Segil said.
Now, after spending nearly half his life in prison for a conviction that has been thrown out, Martinez says he is finally focused on something he thought he might never have again — a future.