Circuit Judge Robert Smith dismissed a capital murder indictment for a former Alabama State Trooper who served nearly 15 years after being convicted for burning alive his wife, Hammoleketh Martin, in her car in 1995.

Smith's basis for the dismissal of the case stems from evidence he says the prosecution willingly withheld from the defense during the original 2000 case that sent former trooper, George Martin, to death row for killing his wife.

In 2014, an appeals court overturned Martin's death row sentence. In 2015, the judge granted Martin bail and allowed him to work and live within Mobile County while awaiting further action in his trial. While on bail, he was ordered to wear an ankle monitor.

A major piece of evidence that changed in Martin's favor was an apparent false identification by the prosecution's star witness, James Taylor. Taylor reported that he saw a black male in an Alabama State Trooper's uniform in the area where Hammoleketh Martin's body was found in her car.

However, when shown a photo lineup of all the black male state troopers in Mobile, Taylor identified someone who was not Martin.

According to court documents, this information was buried by the prosecution and not presented to the defense.

"If the Martin case is not one which is appropriate for dismissal, there may never be one," Smith wrote in a document signed on March 11.

Similarly, the prosecution omitted the admission by the victim's sister that Hammoleketh Martin kept a can of gas in her car.

"Experienced trial lawyers, including these prosecutors, know that they must be prepared to address the weaknesses of their case," Smith wrote. "The affirmative use by the prosecutors of partial truths and untruths with knowledge satisfy the element of the prosecution's willful misconduct in this case."

Smith's order of dismissal was filed "with prejudice" which means that Martin cannot be tried for this specific charge again. Future litigation in the trial has thus been canceled and Martin is no longer responsible for wearing an ankle monitor. He is still considered on bond.