Along with being in poor health and in danger of potentially contracting the coronavirus, a 72-year-old convict has been ordered released from prison as newly discovered evidence—allegedly kept from his lawyer—calls into question the validity of his murder conviction.

U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Antonio Martinez's emergency motion for bail. According to Goldberg, both Martinez's risk of catching COVID-19 and recently uncovered evidence in a police homicide file that there were other plausible suspects in the murder case contributed to granting Martinez his freedom.

Martinez was convicted of first-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in 1985 for the shooting deaths of Hector and Luis Camacho. He requested habeas corpus review in 2019 based on the new evidence, and added COVID-19 concerns to his request to be freed when the pandemic arose. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office did not oppose his request.

"I have carefully reviewed these materials, and there is no question that the documents provided by the parties contain interviews of witnesses who identify persons other than petitioner as the shooter," Goldberg said in his opinion granting Martinez's motion. "The police records allegedly recently discovered also contain information regarding a clear motive for at least one of the other suspects to have committed the homicides."

Martinez alleged that the prosecution kept that information from his defense attorney. Goldberg said that the evidence was "compelling" but stopped short of exonerating Martinez.

"Proof that the above information was not turned over to petitioner until recently is somewhat unclear and, at best, circumstantial," Goldberg said. "While the May 30, 1989 discovery transmittal letter from the assigned trial prosecutor does not list any of the evidence set forth above as having been produced, that document is incomplete, consisting only of a single page without a signature. It further complicates matters that trial counsel for petitioner is deceased, thus preventing his explanation as to whether the above-referenced information was, in fact, withheld."

The prosecutor currently handling the case in Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office said no attempts had been made to contact the assistant district attorney who handled the case in the 1980s, according to Goldberg.

"When asked why the trial prosecutor had not been interviewed, the currently assigned assistant district attorney stated that her office had not done so because of the office's 'deteriorated' relationship with the former prosecutor and his 'credibility issues,'" Goldberg said.

The judge added that prosecutors have made no attempt to contact the detectives who investigated the case, nor has Martinez's current lawyer attempted to reach out to the investigators or prosecutors who tried the case.

"I find these unasked questions by both counsel to be somewhat troubling," Goldberg said.

The District Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment. Martinez's current lawyer, Jonathan Feinberg of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing, Feinberg & Lin, did not respond to a request for comment.

Despite his apparent reservations, Goldberg said Martinez had a high probability of success in his bid to be exonerated.

"And, because of his age, ill health, and the COVID-19 pandemic, I also find that 'extraordinary circumstances' exist. Both of these factors, taken together, warrant that bail conditions be set," Goldberg said.

Goldberg ordered Martinez to be released into the custody of his son, Pedro, to be confined at home except for medical appointments. The judge stressed that a "thorough" hearing was needed before any final determination on Martinez's freedom was made.