USA - Alabama. Brian Martin sentenced to death

September 11, 2026 - Alabama. USA - Alabama. Brian Martin sentenced to death

A Colbert County jury has unanimously recommended a death sentence for Brian Martin, found guilty in the October 1, 2021 murder of an officer, Sgt. Nick Risner.

Brian Martin has been sentenced to death by unanimous vote for the capital murder of Sgt. Nicholas “Nick” Risner in the Circuit Court of Colbert County of Judge Mitch Hays. 

The verdict came on Day 9 of the trial, which focused on the death of Sheffield police Sgt. Nick Risner and assaults of other law enforcement officers. Martin is set for a separate trial stemming from the killing of William Mealback Jr.

The trial, held in Tuscumbia, capped nearly 5 years of legal proceedings that followed an October 2021 shooting spree that began on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals. Prosecutors said that Martin shot and killed Mealback, then led officers on a chase that ended behind Southgate Mall in a shootout with Risner and Lt. Max Dotson.

The defense did not dispute that Martin was involved in the shooting but argued he was suffering a severe mental health crisis at the time.

Martin’s mother testified that paranoia runs in the family and described her son boarding up windows and nailing the attic shut in the belief people were living there. She said he had been hospitalized for 12 to 14 days earlier in the year and was not taking his prescribed medication.

Martin testified in his own defense, telling jurors he remembers fragments of the day — being shot, the ambulance, the operating table — but no memory of the shootout itself. He said he believed he was chasing the person who shot Mealback.

A forensic neuropsychologist called by the defense confirmed Martin’s history of mental illness, including paranoia and delusions, but acknowledged under questioning that psychosis alone does not establish legal insanity.

It is not clear when Martin, who is being held at the Franklin County jail for security reasons, will be tried on a count of capital murder related to Mealback’s death.