The Norfolk farmer jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar and seriously injuring another has said he "doesn't regret anything", 23 years after the killing.
Tony Martin, 78, told the Mirror newspaper he still hoped to clear his name over the case but that his hopes were "fading fast".
Brendon Fearon and Fred Barras, 16, drove more than 60 miles from Newark to Emneth Hungate, near Wisbech, to break into Bleak House, Mr Martin's farmhouse, on the night of August 20, 1999.
They encountered Mr Martin, who turned an unlicensed shotgun on the pair.
Mr Barras was found dead in the undergrowth the next day. Mr Fearon escaped with gunshot wounds to raise the alarm.
The killing generated huge controversy and coverage, highlighting questions over the extent to which people have the right to defend their homes from intruders.
Mr Martin was jailed for life after a jury found him guilty of Barras' murder in 2000.
But the conviction was later reduced to manslaughter and the sentence cut. Martin was freed in 2003.
Now 20 years after walking free, Mr Martin has given an interview maintaining that the manslaughter conviction should be overturned.
Speaking inside the derelict £3 million farm he still owns, he told the Mirror: “I went to bed that night with the Farmers Weekly and a bottle of wine. I had the radio on.
“Suddenly, the house was broken into and my life changed. Does that make me a guilty man?
“Can you imagine it? It was a terrifying experience. You go home one night and someone breaks into your house and you get the police jumping on [your] back.
“Suddenly, I’m this man that wants to kill people.
“I don’t regret anything – what was I supposed to do? Hide under the bed clothes?
“Before I knew where I was I was locked up by the police. It’s unlucky that I was the fall guy.”
Speaking last year to the Eastern Daily Press, Mr Martin said he became "legal fodder" in the aftermath of the shooting, which sparked a national debate over whether householders could use force to defend their homes.
He was initially charged with offences including murder, attempted murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
READ MORE: Thieves continue to target Bleak House 20 years after shooting
Mr Martin told the Mirror he fears he no longer has the "fight in him" to pursue quashing his manslaughter conviction.
“I would like to appeal but you can’t because you need fresh evidence," he said. "My idea of fresh evidence and their idea [of it] are different.
“I’d love to clear my name before I die but it may never happen. The law won’t allow it.”
Bleak House continues to attract the attention of so-called 'urban explorers', who enter deserted and empty properties and then document what they discover online.
The property was already in a dilapidated state when Mr Martin lived there, having inherited it from his aunt 40 years ago, and it has continued to fall into decay since.
He has no plans to restore it or make it fit for habitation again but refuses to sell up, instead hoping to leave the farm to someone.
Mr Martin told the Mirror: “It’s a defeatist thing to say but I know I would have been better off without the farm. But I’ll not sell it.”
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