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John Hartman

John Hartman

George Frese

Marvin Roberts

Kevin Pease

Eugene Vent

Court Services officer Cheryl Jasper, bottom left, escorts the four men accused of killing John Hartman into Fairbanks Superior Court. From back left are Eugene Vent, George Frese, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease.

Friends and family of Robert Pease hold hands and pray after court on Feb. 4, 2000. Pease was sentenced to 79 years for his part in the beating death of John Hartman.

Evalyn Thomas left, and her friend Mike Probert express their frustrations in front of the courthouse on Nov. 25, 1998, over the change of venue in the trial of George Frese. Frese, accused of murdering Thomas' son John Hartman, sought to move his trial out of Fairbanks because of pretrial publicity. The trials of all four of the men accused of killing Hartman were held in Anchorage.

Franc Fallico, chief medical examiner for the state of Alaska.

Evalyn Thomas

Michael Kelly, 21, left, comforts his mother, Evalyn Thomas, in front of the memorial mantle for Thomas' deceased son John Hartman, who was kicked to death on the corner of Ninth Avenue and Barnette Street in 1997.

Hazel Roberts, mother of Marvin Roberts, one of the four men convicted of killing 15-year-old John Hartman, listens to speakers during a rally Oct. 12, 2007 in front of the Rabinowitz Courthouse. The rally aims to bring continued attention to the 10-year-old case of four young men found guilty of beating Hartman to death. Many people continue to voice the innocence of the four men.

Carol Pease, left, talks with a passerby on the Cushman Street Bridge on Oct. 11, 1999. Pease, whose son, Kevin Pease, was one of four men convicted in the October 1997 beating death of John Hartman, was handing out fliers saying that the four are innocent. A group called The Justice for John Hartman Committee is trying to draw attention to what it says are discrepancies in the state's case.

From left, Eugene Vent, 17, George Frese, 20, and Marvin Roberts, 19, watch proceedings during their arraignment on charges of murder and sexual assault at Fairbanks Superior Court. The suspects pleaded innocent to charges stemming from the beating death of John Hartman.

About two dozen marchers of Alaskan Natives Standing Up For Justice make their way down the street during their annual trek from the Al Ketzler Sr. Building to the Golden Heart Plaza on March 17, 2004. The group of friends and family of the four men convicted in the 1997 beating death of John Hartman hold the protest march every year to show their support for the four men, Marvin Roberts, George Frese, Eugene Vent, and Kevin Pease.

John Hartman's brother Robert Kelly, left, and stepfather Mike Probert, right, listen to testimony on Jan. 28, 2000, during a presentencing hearing for George Frese, one of the men convicted in 1997 murder of Hartman.

Pictures of John Hartman were brought in by friends and family during a presentencing hearing of George Frese (background) on Jan. 28, 2000. Frese is one of four men convicted in 1997 murder of Hartman.

From left clockwise, George Frese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease prepare to leave Alaska Superior Court after a hearing. The four men were later convicted of murdering John Hartman.

The mother of Marvin Roberts and her son, center, sit in Alaska Superior Court after hearing a ruling that dismissed indictments against her son and two other defendants in the beating death of John Hartman. Roberts' family was surrounded by supporters of the four defendants accused in Hartman's death.

Ida McClough, top, listens to Assistant District Attorney Jeff O'Bryant as he addresses Alaska Superior Court Judge Sigurd Murphy in court. McClough is the mother of Eugene Vent, one of four men accused of murdering John Hartman.

Supporters of the four convicted men pray during a rally on Oct. 12, 2007 in front of the Rabinowitz Courthouse. The rally aims to bring continued attention to the 10-year-old case of four young men found guilty of beating 15-year-old John Hartman to death. Many people continue to voice the innocence of the four men.

Fairbanks Police Lt. Paul Keller conducts a news conference at the Gilliam Way police substation. Keller described the fatal beating of John Hartman by four individuals as an act of random street violence.

John Hartman's mother, Evalyn Thomas, right, listens in Alaska Superior Court after testifying that she did not think the four men accused of murdering her son in October 2007 should be allowed out on bail.

Attorney Dick Madson addresses the Alaska Court of Appeals on May 6, 2003 in the Rabinowitz Courthouse. Madson is the defense attorney for Marvin Roberts. Pictured from left are: Judge David Mannheimer, Chief Judge Robert Coats and Judge David Stewart.

Alaska Superior Court Judge Sigurd Murphy explains his rulings concerning the indictments in the John Hartman murder trial.

John Hartman's mother, Evalyn Thomas, is comforted by friend Dave Fink after George Frese's sentence was read Jan. 31, 2000. Frese is one of four men convicted in the 1997 murder of Hartman.

Alaska Superior Court Judge Sigurd Murphy presides over the John Hartman murder trial.

Supporters of the four convicted men hold signs during a rally Oct. 12, 2007 in front of the Rabinowitz Courthouse. The rally aims to bring continued attention to the 10-year-old case of four young men found guilty of beating 15-year-old John Hartman to death. Many people continue to voice the innocence of the four men.

Kevin Pease, 18, exits the courtroom following an arraignment.

Evalyn Thomas displays a thank you card received from an anonymous organ transplant recipient who now carries a kidney that belonged to her deceased 15-year-old son, John Hartman.

From back left to right, defendants in the John Hartman murder trial, George Frese, Eugene Vent, Kevin Pease and Marvin Roberts leave Alaska Superior Court.

Hazel Roberts, mother of Marvin Roberts, one of the four men convicted in the October 1997 murder of John Hartman, protests the conviction with family members and other supporters in front of the State Courthouse on Dec. 3, 1999. The group, Justice for John Hartman, maintains that there is no evidence that the men were involved in the crime.

Fairbanks Police Detective Aaron Ring.

Shirley Demientieff, center, leads a group of family and friends of the four young men convicted of John Hartman's 1997 murder in a protest march on March 12, 2003, from the Al Ketzler Sr. Building past the courthouse to Golden Heart Plaza where they prayed and spoke in support of the four men's innocence. Recent investigative work by University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism students questioned jury actions in the trial of two of the men convicted of Hartman's murder -- Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease. Authorities are checking into the allegations of juror misconduct.

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