COLBERT COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Before Brian Lansing Martin can stand trial for capital murder, it must be determined if he’s mentally sound. But the process of getting there has been long and complicated.
Martin is accused of killing his roommate, William Mealback Jr., and shoving him out of his truck in 2021 in Muscle Shoals. That led to a police chase and shootout, where Sheffield police sergeant Nick Risner was killed and another officer was injured.
Martin was arrested in October 2021, but a trial date has still not been set because of ongoing issues with getting him a mental health examination.
In November 2023, a court filing from the Alabama Department of Mental Health said Martin was not mentally competent. But a few days later, the department said more evaluation was needed. Martin then had to wait more than a year for another evaluation.
That has been completed, but the evaluation was not released in court on Thursday. The defense has already filed an objection to its findings.
Late Thursday afternoon, the court agreed to a defense request for an independent mental evaluation.
The judge also agreed on the defense’s request for a competency trial — that is now set for early January. There, a jury will be asked to decide if Martin is mentally competent to stand trial.
If Martin is found competent after the third-party review, the court said there will be no need for the competency trial in January, and Martin’s capital murder trial could be set for the summer of 2026.
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